Trudeau to allow provinces to ban handguns

"Gun violence is on the rise in many of our biggest cities. While investing in prevention and supporting the work of law enforcement, we must also continue to strengthen gun control," said the Governor General on behalf of Trudeau.

"The government will now put forward measures like a mandatory buyback of banned assault-style weapons, and move forward with any province or territory that wants to ban handguns," the speech added.

During the previous election, Trudeau made firearms into a political wedge issue. The Conservatives argue that Trudeau's firearm policies only harm law-abiding firearm owners. In their view, it will not tackle the source of the crime, which is illegal guns smuggled across the American border.

Trudeau's Public Safety Minister said that "we’ve seen too many innocent lives lost. And certainly, that is true in my hometown in Toronto and in many other parts of the country."

"If municipalities and provinces are ready to engage the federal government on looking at additional ways, on how we can get illegal guns, including handguns out of our communities, then my door and this government’s door will remain open," he added.