In this Bearing Arms article, Cam Edwards reveals that Canada’s handgun transfer ban is strangling competitive shooting sports, driving the International Practical Shooting Confederation toward extinction as no new participants can legally enter the discipline.
- The 2023 federal ban on selling and transferring handguns, enacted under Justin Trudeau, includes limited exemptions only for Olympic-style shooting, leaving standard IPSC competitors with no path to acquire equipment.
- IPSC has about 6,000 Canadian members whose sport faces a “death sentence,” with veterans warning of atrophy and total disappearance over the next decade due to lack of newcomers.
- Competitor Glen Miller stated the writing is on the wall: “if nothing changes, then this sport will absolutely die out,” after investing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into the discipline.
- Canadian Shooting Sports Association board member John Evers declared, “Handgun shooting sports is dead. We are just waiting for the corpse to cool,” citing the absence of new blood entering the sport.
- Shooters lobbied unsuccessfully for exemptions in 2022 Senate hearings, where gun control advocates like Wendy Cukier argued civilians have “no need” for such activities as they conflict with Canadian values.
- The ban exceeds even Australia’s strict requirements, leaving Canadian competitors leery of investing in any firearms that could be banned by future government decree.
- Anti-gun forces aim to eliminate all shooting sports, including Olympic disciplines, to justify broader confiscations once non-Olympic handgun events fade away.
- The article warns this incremental destruction mirrors U.S. gun control strategies that ultimately target all civilian firearm ownership for self-defense, hunting, and recreation.
Read the full story:
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2026/06/14/canadian-competitive-shooters-warn-the-end-is-near-n1232850
