The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA) recently released the results of its economic impact survey for the sporting arms industry in Canada at a press conference held September 18, 2019 in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Canadian highlights from the economic impact survey Canadians spent $8.5 billion on hunting and sport shooting last year;

Hunting and sport shooting contributed $5.9 billion to Canada’s GDP last year;

Hunting and sport shooting accounted for 48,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Canada last year, resulting in $6.4 billion in labour income Source: The Conference Board of Canada Economic Footprint of AHTS 2019 “We believe it’s impossible to craft meaningful public policy around firearms in Canada unless we get beyond the pro/anti gun rhetoric. The sporting arms industry in Canada supports 48,000 jobs and some 4,500 small businesses. These business owners are committed to the safety of the communities where the live and work, their employees and their customers. They don’t see themselves or their clients reflected in the current debate around firearms in Canada.” – Alison de Groot, Managing Director CSAAA.

Wes Winkel, owner of Ellwood Epps Sporting Goods in Orillia Ontario; Linda and Lisa Conley, family owners of Bowmac Gunpar Distributing and Stittsville Shooting ranges in Kanata, Ontario; and Alan and Cheryl Mills, husband and wife owners of Al’s Corner Store in Arnprior, Ontario represented sporting arms business owners at the press conference.