Martin Helps Boost Handgun Sales Gun storeowners in Saskatchewan say Prime Minister Paul Martin’s announcement of a plan to further restrict handgun ownership in Canada has triggered a boost in handgun sales in recent weeks, reports CBC News. "Not only us, but handgun sales have gone up, we heard, in some areas, 300 percent," said storeowner Darryl Schemenauer. "The thinking is, it's going to be very hard for government to come to your house and actually take that handgun away."