Targeted: Citizenship, Advocacy, and Gun Control in Canada (2025), is Dr. Schwartz’s second book that delves deeper into the subject of gun control in Canada and its effects on gun owners and collectors. He spoke with The Cascade about the policies, writing challenges, and how the book is relevant to students.
What inspired this book?
I had been doing research on gun politics in the United States … and while I was doing that research, there was the horrific mass killing in Nova Scotia, which prompted a lot of discussions about gun policy in Canada. That got me interested in how Canada makes gun control policy, which voices are included at the table, and how different advocacy groups participate in the conversation..
What is Targeted about?
The book looks at the community of gun owners in Canada and the advocacy that they participate in. It looks at who owns guns in Canada [and] why did people in Canada own guns? John Tory, the former mayor of Toronto, famously asked why does anyone in Canada need a gun? So I tried to answer that question in the book.
What did you find most interesting?
One of the most interesting things is getting the insider scoop on how lobbying works. I got to talk to lobbyists and find out how it actually goes down on Parliament Hill. But also at the individual level it was really interesting to understand how guns and the activities around gun ownership, like hunting, sport shooting [and] collecting, form an important part of these small communities that aren’t really visible to people like me who come from big cities.
What was the most challenging part of the process?
I think the challenge is that I’m speaking to two very different groups with the project. On the one hand, my research subjects are members of the community of gun owners. A lot of my readers and the people that I’m pitching the book to are in the academic community … It’s trying to speak across that divide and talk to both communities in a way that they’ll understand.
You mention the purpose of the book is not to argue against gun control. Can you expand on this point?
I talk about the North American model of Wildlife Conservation and how the government got hunters and anglers to pay for conserving wildlife in Canada through licensing fees and things like [that]. This is a huge public policy success because you’re harnessing the self-interest of people who are going to use these resources to be able to pay to conserve and maintain them. I think the government is missing an opportunity to do something similar with gun owners and public safety because [they] are so highly regulated.
What are the differences concerning gun control in Canada versus America?
The biggest structural difference in the U.S. [is that] they have a really hard time passing federal gun control laws, but there are a lot more gun control laws at the state level.
In Canada, it’s the same everywhere. Since the 1990s, we’ve had a stringent licensing system, so anyone wishing to buy a gun has to apply for a license. There’s a waiting period built in there, and you have to take one to two classes depending on what kind of firearms you want to own. You [also] have to pass a series of tests with an 80 per cent threshold.
What is Bill C-21?
[Bill] C-21 formalizes some of the things that the government had done by executive order, including banning several thousand models of rifles that the government labelled assault style weapons, and then also freezing handgun ownership … The stated purpose of C-21 is to try to keep handguns off of the streets in major urban centres where we’re seeing a lot of gun and gang crime. But the people who are caught in the crossfire of this are collectors.
How is the book relevant to students?
I think students feel the issue of gun control is very relevant to them because they’re watching people the same age as them, with the same life experiences as them in the United States being killed in school, which is horrible [and] shouldn’t happen to anyone … I think they’ll gain an appreciation of a really important political issue in Canada and maybe more of an understanding of that issue.
When will the book be published?
August 26th. You can pre-order it directly from the University of Toronto press website, Amazon or Indigo.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.