OTTAWA—The Liberal government refused Wednesday to say how many banned weapons have been collected in the trial for its contentious gun buyback program, as federal sources and local reports suggest minimal success, raising concerns about how the roughly $750-million scheme will unfold on a national scale.

The Liberals kickstarted the long-delayed program with Cape Breton, N.S. as its testing ground last month, hoping to collect 200 guns and evaluate its system, but the small-scale pilot has been met with pushback and little uptake from frustrated gun owners.

An RCMP official, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to the Star this week that uptake was below hopes and expectations. Local media reports from CBC and the Cape Breton Post have

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