Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola Liberal candidate Iain Currie wavered from his party's gun control stance at an April 22 candidate forum.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Liberal Party of Canada

A Kamloops Liberal candidate diverted from the party's recent gun crackdowns.

Speaking at a forum for local candidates, Iain Currie said new and more stringent gun laws don't work for non-urban Canadians as he recognized that sentiment falls outside the typical party line.

"I recognize the Liberals — the government has not done a great job in classifying firearms, because they have understandably but unfortunately taken the perspective of — this isn't being broadcast in Toronto, I hope, or Vancouver — tea-sipping urbanites," he said at the April 22 election forum.

It's a position the Liberal candidate took as a "shot across the bow" to past Liberal gun policies, which saw hundreds of models newly prohibited since 2020 and the introduction of a buyback program, both applying largely to handguns and "assault-style" firearms. 

Currie said he would be one of the "most rural" MPs in Parliament west of Toronto if elected to represent Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola, and he would bring that perspective to the government.

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"I think the best way to reform that, to ensure politicization doesn't creep in to offend lawful gun owners for whom a gun is a tool, a connection to land, a connection to family, is to send someone like me to Ottawa, who has that perspective and can have a seat at the table when these things are being discussed," Currie said.

Incumbent MP Frank Caputo is the Conservative Party's deputy justice critic and has taken issue with the government's recent efforts to crackdown on guns, adding he has debated the justice minister at the House of Commons.

He said more attention should be paid to illegal firearms used in crimes, while regulations already in place that put more pressure on lawful gun owners, especially hunters, should be "evaluated."

"What I've seen is politics being played when it comes to firearms," Caputo said, going on to call out Currie's position as being "at odds" with his own party. 

He isn't wrong either, as the Liberal platform under leader Mark Carney proposes to "reinvigorate" the buyback program for "assault-style" guns among its policies.

But, aside from the far-right People's Party, other parties have not been clear about whether they would repeal Liberal gun control policies on the campaign trail.

Conservative leader Pierre Polievre did promise not to put money into the buyback program. The PPC has proposed to repeal the Liberals' sweeping gun prohibitions and almost entirely rebuild gun control laws by reforming the licensing system and replacing the Firearms Act.

"We would classify guns as either legal or illegal," People's Party candidate Chris Enns said. "Any other sub-classification is just getting in the weeds."

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Like Caputo, he took issue with guns used for illegal purposes and with laws that place more restrictions on law-abiding owners.

NDP candidate Miguel Godau conceded it's "not an area (he has) expertise in," but he said there are lots of "rural Canadians" and responsible gun owners in the riding he would advocate for in Ottawa.

All four candidates, along with the Green Party's Jenna Lindley who wasn't at the debate, are vying for the Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola seat. 

The full all-candidate forum for the two Kamloops area ridings can be found on the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Facebook page here. A comparative list of each party's proposed firearm policies, and other platform items, is available on the CBC website here.

Federal election day is Monday, April 28.

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