OTTAWA - The Canadian Sports Shooting Association is calling foul on Justin Trudeau's gun registry pivot.

It says the Montreal Liberal MP is pandering to gun owners by calling the registry "a failure" now he's running for leadership.

"His actions speak louder than words," spokesman Tony Bernardo said Sunday.

"He voted to retain the registry. His party has never shown any remorse for the 15 years of slight that it's given the two million firearms owners in Canada. What reason do we have to believe the leopard's changed its spots?"

On Twitter Sunday, both NDP principal secretary Karl Belanger and Tory Sen. Doug Finley also raised eyebrows at Trudeau's registry voting record in the House.

Trudeau's spokeswoman, Kate Monfette, said Sunday Trudeau and his party fought to maintain the registry "given the absence of any responsible approach to gun violence by this government."

"We were not successful in that fight, the registry and its data are gone, so we now have to develop a new approach."

During a campaign stop in Hawkesbury,Ont., on Friday, Trudeau said: "I see that the long-gun registry, as it was, was a failure and I am not going to resuscitate that."

"But we will continue to look at ways of keeping our cities safe and making sure that we do address the concerns around domestic violence across the country in rural as well as urban areas."

The Conservatives killed the registry and erased the data - except for Quebec's - earlier this year. Quebec is seeking to create its own registry.

- with files from David Akin