Can Alberta Deliver on Its New Gun Rights Promises?

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently announced a plan to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights, and strengthening the right to gun ownership is one of the goals.
Alberta and Ottawa have been in a tug-of-war over guns before, and Smith says she’s ready to go to court over it if the feds challenge this new move to protect gun rights.
Both the province and the federal government claim jurisdiction over gun ownership, but on different grounds, says Calgary-based lawyer Leighton Gray. On the one hand, firearms can be considered personal property, and property rights are the province’s exclusive purview, he told The Epoch Times. On the other hand, the federal government is responsible for criminal law, and it has taken action on gun control on the grounds that guns can serve as crime tools.
“I’m prepared to put a line in the sand and fight that out in the courts,” she said, specifically referring to the amendment on gun rights. Other proposed amendments include strengthening property rights and bodily autonomy, including the right to refuse vaccines and other medical treatments.
She said the federal government should be focused on “the criminal use of firearms,” like gun smuggling and firearm-related crimes, not on their ownership. “They should not be going after the law-abiding citizens,” she said.
The Alberta Bill of Rights was first introduced in 1972 by then-premier Peter Lougheed, and Smith said an update is needed to address current affairs. The federal push for gun control to address violent crime has made it necessary to firm-up gun rights, she said.
Alberta’s past attempts to oppose Ottawa have also been called largely symbolic. Alberta invoked its Sovereignty Act for the first time in November of 2023. The act sets out processes for the province to refuse to enforce federal policies that “violate the jurisdictional rights of Alberta.” The province invoked the act in opposition to the federal Clean Electricity Regulations, which Smith said set impossible goals.
Smith told the Western Standard that her changes to the Bill of Rights will at least make Ottawa think twice before taking any action on guns and vaccines that may be challenged by Alberta.
If Smith’s amendment to the Alberta Bill of Rights is implemented, Grey said, a future vaccine mandate dictated by the government would be illegal if applied to Albertans.