The Alberta Provincial Government has announced a funding increase of $700,000 for the Alberta Chief Firearms Office (ACFO).

With this increase, the ACFO will receive over $7 million next year.

The announcement was made live yesterday afternoon (Sept. 8) by Premier Jason Kenney, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, and Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer, Teri Bryant.

According to Shandro, the additional funding will help in hiring 40 new positions at the ACFO.

He says the ACFO is focusing largely on processing transfers, authorizations, and other administrative tasks that would typically fall on the Canadian Firearms Program.

“This program is poorly managed, it’s understaffed, and, let’s be honest, it’s subject to the political whims of Ottawa. To make matters worse, recent federal legislation has effectively banned handguns, leading to an unprecedented increase in sales and transfers of more than 178,000 handguns since this spring. The Canadian Firearms Program has effectively shrugged their shoulders, leaving wait times to skyrocket.”

The ACFO was created in 2021 as a way for Alberta to assert its provincial jurisdiction with respect to firearms, over what they see as “Ottawa’s ridiculous firearms agenda.”

The provincial government has been vocal with its qualms over federal gun legislation, taking aim at the impending federal freeze on purchases, sales, and transportation of handguns, as well as the recent rules requiring vendors to keep inventory and sales records for extended periods.

The UCP government has branded recent legislation as a "needless intrusion in the lives of law-abiding citizens."

The announcement can be viewed here.