Carey Price says he meant no “disrespect” after polarizing pro-gun message

Carey Price has responded after coming under fire for a pro-gun message shared on Instagram this weekend.

Price, who hunts, spoke out against the federal gun-control bill, saying “what [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] is trying to do is unjust.” The Montreal Canadiens goaltender also said he supports Canadian gun lobby group CCFR to protect his “hunting tools.”

The CCFR is the same gun lobby group that recently used “POLY” as a discount promo code — which is an apparent reference to the 1989 Polytechnique Massacre. Nathalie Provost, who was shot four times during the massacre, called the promo code “incredibly disrespectful,” according to the CBC.

Tuesday is the 33rd anniversary of the antifeminist mass shooting at the École Polytechnique de Montréal, where 14 women were murdered.

On Monday, Price said he didn’t mean any disrespect to anyone and clarified that he also didn’t agree with the CCRF’s promo code.

“My views are my own and I do believe in them,” Price said on Twitter. “The only reason I bring up this issue is because it is what’s being brought up now and not out of disrespect to anyone.

“No, I didn’t agree with the promotional code either.”

In a separate tweet, Price reiterated his support for hunters and sport shooters.

“I continue to stand beside my fellow hunters and sport shooters who have legally acquired our property and use in a safe manner,” Price said.

In a statement shared with Radio-Canada earlier in the day, the Canadiens said Price was “not aware of the tragic events of Dec. 6, 1989, nor of the coalition’s recent marketing initiatives.”

The Canadiens have also released a statement, apologizing to anyone “offended or upset by the discourse that has arisen.”

The federal government introduced Bill C-21 in May, which proposed stricter laws controlling handguns. But an amendment proposed would ban “a firearm that is a rifle or shotgun, that is capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed.”

Semi-automatic rifles and shotguns are commonly used for hunting in Canada.

Price has drawn the support of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, as well as former NHL players Scottie Upshall and Marc Methot, among others, on the polarizing issue.