To save people from the headache of this ad riddled website, below is the gist, it’s also worth noting that the original source put this behind a paywall but then released it to MSN.

A federal intelligence brief warned last fall that a controversial gun buyback program would be used as ammunition for domestic extremists to inflame anger against government officials and to recruit more members.

A briefing prepared by the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre, or ITAC, warned that an announcement about the buyback of “assault-style” firearms would “likely fuel anti-authority” sentiment, though it was unlikely to spark an immediate attack.

“Any type of firearms legislation will almost certainly be leveraged by violent extremist propaganda,” the ITAC briefing said. “Firearms legislation will continue to be discussed in some xenophobic, accelerationist and anti-government circles since there will always be individuals who seize on this topic and weave it into their discourse as part of their recruitment strategy.”

The brief also suggested the ban on such guns would do little to prevent deadly attacks by extremists, who it said could likely obtain guns by other means.

The document, which the IJF obtained via access to information legislation, warned that, “although firearms have not been the predominant weapon used in domestic attacks, perceived government overreach relating to firearms restrictions, as well as an increase in violent rhetoric online, combined with other personal grievances could trigger potential extremists to conduct an attack in the long term.”

Public Safety Canada, the federal department organizing the gun buyback program, declined to answer direct questions about the ITAC briefing. ITAC is a federal government organization that assesses threats such as terrorism using a combination of open source and other intelligence sources

The federal government announced the assault-style firearm program in 2020 after a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 22 people using various firearms. They included a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle he obtained illegally in Canada and three guns he had smuggled illegally from the United States, including a Colt semi-automatic rifle. The shooter did not have a firearms licence.

Since then, the federal government has banned more than 2,500 “assault-style firearms” and has begun to roll out buyback programs to compensate owners of those weapons who voluntarily return them.

Public Safety Canada, for example, reports that as of April 2025 businesses such as gun stores have returned more than 12,000 prohibited weapons for compensation totalling more than $22 million. The buyback program for businesses is set to reopen this year.

But the government’s buyback program for individual gun owners has been slower to reach fruition and less successful. Last year the government piloted a buyback program in Cape Breton, N.S., designed to compensate owners of prohibited guns who voluntarily surrender them.

Earlier this month, the program launched nationwide to all eligible firearms owners. But reaction to the individual buyback program has been mixed. The six-week pilot for individual gun owners in Cape Breton resulted in just 25firearms being returned and destroyed, well below the government’s target of 200.

And the government’s “amnesty period” for owners of those guns across the country expires in October of this year. Gun owner groups and the federal Conservatives — who have called the program a “gun grab” — argue it unfairly punishes legal gun owners and will do little to stop violent crime.

ITAC’s intelligence brief notes that the buyback program has long been used as a rhetorical tool for extremist groups, who characterize it as government overreach. ITAC also predicted that motivated extremist actors would likely pivot to using legal firearms, 3D-printed or modified weapons or use a friend or family member’s gun to circumvent the law.

A second ITAC briefing obtained by the IJF through access to information notes that privately made firearms like those manufactured by 3D printers “represent a growing threat to national security and public safety.” It says such weapons are popular in extremist circles and “now approach the quality and reliability of industrially manufactured weapons.”

Last fall, the Canadian Press reported that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who oversees the program, suggested to an acquaintance that law enforcement had few resources to enforce the buyback program.

A spokesperson for Anandasangaree did not respond to a request for comment for this story.