Alberta Radio Opinion: Is Ottawa Preparing to Use the Military Against Its Own Citizens?

Canada disarming Canadians with the use of Military Force

February 16th, 2026 - By an Albertan Voice for Alberta Radio

A jaw-dropping clarification from the RCMP has raised a question every Albertan should be asking: Is the Liberal government gearing up to use military resources against Canadians — again?

The RCMP recently confirmed it will be the operational arm of Ottawa’s gun confiscation scheme, deploying supplementary personnel — including “Reservists” — to collect prohibited firearms from licensed owners across much of the country.

That language isn’t accidental. Historically, when the RCMP called in extra personnel during the High River floods, it was the Canadian military providing key support as Mounties executed search orders and enforced actions on private property. That memory still lingers sharply for many Albertans who saw their neighbors rights trampled in the name of emergency response.

What’s truly troubling about the RCMP’s “clarification” isn’t semantics — it’s the implications:

• Ottawa is planning enforcement activity that goes beyond simple registration or paperwork. It’s talking about physical collection.

• The plan depends on extra personnel — which inevitably diverts law-enforcement resources from fighting gangs and border smuggling to enforcing political dogma.

• Firearms confiscations are now being acknowledged as potentially dependent on where you live, with Alberta and Saskatchewan explicitly excluded from the RCMP plan. Federal policy unevenly applied across provinces is a blatant violation of equal protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

For many in Alberta — where responsible firearm ownership is not just a hobby but a way of life — this feels like déjà vu. Over the past decade, Ottawa has pushed one intrusive firearms policy after another, steadily eroding the rights of licensed and lawful firearm owners without meaningful results against actual criminal smuggling or urban gang violence.

What’s worse, the RCMP even insists that this massive change to policing priorities will not impact frontline crime-fighting — a claim that strains credulity when officers are already stretched thin tackling violent crime.

Albertans know two things that Ottawa refuses to acknowledge:

1. The military’s role is to defend Canada from external threats — not enforce political agendas at home. Historical examples like the 1970 October Crisis taught us how dangerous it is when the federal government blurs those lines.

2. Civil liberties and the Charter of Rights mean something here. Jumping to extreme enforcement measures without provincial consent undermines the very foundations of our federation.

This isn’t fear-mongering. It’s a sober look at how a central government — increasingly unaccountable to Western Canada — is using trusted institutions like the RCMP as instruments of policy, not of public safety. And when those institutions start hinting at deploying additional forces — whether RCMP “Reservists” or even military support — Canadians have every right to demand answers.

Albertans — whether you own a firearm or not — should unite behind the principle that our rights cannot be selectively enforced based on geography or politics.

We deserve a government that protects citizens, not one that positions police and military power as tools to suppress lawful behavior.