Alberta's premier said the ban is a punishment for law-abiding Canadians and does little to target criminals or those smuggling guns into the country from the United States.

There are reports the government is considering making a buyback program voluntary.

There will be a two-year amnesty period and an eventual buyback program.

"I think there are measures we can take to make those guns just generally unacceptable and inaccessible," said Bill Blair on Tuesday.

A new Angus Reid Institute public survey study suggests six out of ten Canadians want an outright ban on handguns in this country.

Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns (CDPG) says the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has decided it will not investigate the over 70 complaints against Dr. Najma Ahmed that related to her advocacy work for tighter gun laws.

The Canadian government will tighten controls over the sale and licensing of firearms, including provisions that would reclassify two controversial families of rifles as prohibited weapons.

The proposed measure - part of a wide-ranging firearms bill tabled in the House of Commons - is intended to assist police in investigating gun trafficking and other crimes.

The Liberal government is planning to introduce long-promised legislation as early as Tuesday to strengthen controls on the sale, licensing and tracing of guns.

The shooting marked the 18th school shooting of the year and is one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.