TriggerChange was launched in response to an alarming rise in firearm-related crimes in Canada (increasing by 40 percent between 2013 and 2017). For Toronto in particular, 2018 was a record year of gun violence, with a number of highly publicized shootings across the city.

While Canada does have more restrictive gun control regulations than the neighbouring U.S., over the past decade, the country’s gun laws have loosened (in comparison to nearly every other OECD country). However, polls show the majority of Canadians support stricter gun laws but because of a very vocal gun lobby, the political will has not been there to pass meaningful legislation.

This campaign was designed to provoke the majority of people who support gun control to get active and sign an official parliamentary petition, which would force the government to act if the petition passed a certain threshold of signatures.

The Coalition for Gun Control advocates for a safer Canada. In 2018, their goal of passing a national handgun and military assault-style weapon ban became more urgent, as Toronto experienced record levels of gun violence.

To draw attention to the issue, we created TriggerChange, a public advocacy campaign that launched by installing a 13-foot model of a bullet in front of Toronto City Hall. That was followed with Encased City, an art installation illustrating the city’s rising gun violence.

The execution involved a custom billboard filled with 10,000 bullets to dramatize the city being drowned by gun violence. The piece was moved across the city to show that gun violence impacted all of Toronto.

The campaign has become a rallying cry for the gun control movement in Canada, with over 20,000 Canadians signing a petition to ban handguns, and Toronto mayor John Tory formally endorsing the campaign.