Just a few months ago Canadian gun owners were feeling optimistic about getting some relief from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals' anti-gun machinations, but Donald Trump's oft-repeated threats to turn Canada into the 51st state and tariff hikes on Canadian goods have given the Liberals a big lift in the polls ahead of the snap election that will take place on April 28th. 

Two months ago the Conservatives had a 20-point lead in polling, but they've been tanking in surveys ever since, and right now the Liberals hold a a six-point edge in pre-election polling. There's still some time for Conservatives to turn things around, but gun owners in the Great White North are right to be concerned that the relief they were hoping for is nowhere in sight, and some are now trying to convince the Liberals to chart a new course on gun control if they remain in power. 

Douglas Lightheart feels the Liberals have misfired and taken aim at the wrong kind of gun owner in their efforts to boost gun safety in Canada. 

"As a firearm owner, I don't want to be villainized, I don't want to be presented to the public as a criminal," he said. 

Lighheart is the president and gun range operator of the East Elgin Sportsmen's Association in Aylmer, Ont. About 1,700 members strong, the club was first incorporated in 1955 and has grown steadily over the years. It now has eight outdoor gun ranges, along with a modern indoor gun range and archery ranges. 

... Interest in the hobby is growing. In fact, some clubs closer to the GTA don't have room to add more members, which is part of the reason why many are showing up at East Elgin. The club's "range nights" allow those new to shooting to try it out and take a gun safety course taught by certified range officers in a controlled environment. 

"A lot of people, they don't have a licence and before they pursue getting one, they want to see what shooting a firearm is all about and see how much fun it can be," said Lightheart. 

And while interest in target shooting is growing, Lightheart feels the hobby is becoming almost impossible to enter due to gun laws he said make gun ownership so difficult and expensive in Canada, than many find it more trouble than it's worth. 

"They've set the rules up in a manner that it absolutely will die out," said Lightheart. 

No offense to Lightheart, but there's absolutely no evidence that the Liberals are unaware of the impact that their gun control policies will have on sport shooters like himself and the 1,700 members of the East Elgin Sportsmen's Association. To the contrary,; Liberals have taken aim not only at handguns but a wide variety of semi-automatic firearms, and their goal of reducing gun ownership and not just the number of guns in circulation has hardly been a secret. 

What he'd like to see is the Liberals shift focus and direct their efforts at criminals and illegally imported guns instead of law abiding gun owners.

Bail reform, a key focus of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, is also something Lightheart would like to see the Liberals focus on. He said more restrictions on legal gun owners will do nothing to curb the recent rise in gun violence. 

Lightheart would also like to see more focus on stopping illegal handguns coming up from the United States. 

"The firearms I own, I purchased legally," he said. "The people you read about ... these are not legally acquired firearms. They don't have trigger locks on their guns.

"I don't want an item that I legally purchased, I don't want them coming and taking it from me and presenting me as a problem to the general public. I am not a threat to the general public." 

In other words, he'd like to see the Liberals adopt a more Conservative approach to gun ownership. Hey, I'd like to see that here in the United States too, but despite a growing number of Democrats and those on the left embracing their Second Amendment rights there's no sign that's translating into any kind of moderation when it comes to support for gun control on the part of Democratic politicians. Lightheart can wish for the Liberals to rethink their animosity towards gun ownership as much as he wants, but from a practical standpoint he'd be much better off rallying his fellow gun owners to turn out on Election Day and vote for those candidates who aren't interested in turning him and his friends into criminals.