Carney’s Defence of Anandasangaree Exposes the Cracks in the Liberals’ Gun Policy

By standing firmly behind Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree after leaked audio revealed his doubts about the Liberals’ gun buyback program, Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to project strength. But in reality, the controversy highlights the deeper cracks in a policy that was always more about politics than public safety.

The buyback program, first rolled out under Justin Trudeau in the wake of the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, was pitched as a bold move to get “assault-style” weapons off Canadian streets. More than 1,500 firearms were banned, with compensation promised to owners. On paper, it sounded decisive. In practice, it’s been messy, underfunded, and widely criticized by experts, gun owners, and now apparently by the very minister in charge of implementing it.

The leaked recording, in which Anandasangaree admits that municipal police forces lack the resources to enforce the bans and even suggests the program is politically motivated by Quebec voters, is damning. It’s one thing for opposition parties or advocacy groups to cry foul; it’s another for the minister of public safety to privately say the program won’t work while publicly trying to defend it. That contradiction cuts to the core of why Canadians are skeptical of political promises.

Pierre Poilievre wasted no time pressing Carney in the House of Commons, framing the program as a costly Liberal vanity project. “His own minister of public safety says this government is doing it wrong,” Poilievre said. Carney’s retort that the program is about “fair compensation” and “getting illegal assault rifles off the streets” felt rehearsed, defensive, and out of step with what Canadians heard on tape.

This controversy also raises uncomfortable questions about Anandasangaree’s judgment. In the recording, he offers to personally pay a constituent the difference between the government’s buyback compensation and what they originally spent on their firearms. That sort of off-the-cuff promise blurs the line between political theatre and responsible governance.

And this isn’t Anandasangaree’s first brush with scrutiny. From his ethics screen tied to Tamil community issues, to questions about his involvement in a Tamil Tigers immigration case, the minister has been shadowed by doubts about his ability to carry this portfolio without conflict. For Carney to keep him in such a high-stakes role suggests the prime minister either doesn’t have a strong bench or doesn’t want to show weakness by cutting him loose so soon after appointing him.

At its core, this isn’t just about one minister’s missteps. It’s about a government that has consistently sold the gun buyback program as a public safety initiative while quietly knowing its flaws. When the minister responsible admits the program is politically driven and practically unworkable, it confirms what critics have been saying all along.

Carney can stand by Anandasangaree all he likes, but Canadians are left to wonder: if even the Liberals don’t believe in their own gun policy, why should anyone else?