Firearms regulation in Canada

See also: Canadian Firearms Program

Firearms in Canada are federally regulated through the Firearms Act, the Criminal Code, and the Canadian Firearms Program, a program operated within the RCMP. Regulation is largely about licensing and registration of firearms, including air guns with a muzzle velocity of more than 500 ft/s or 150 m/s and muzzle energy greater than 4.2 ft⋅lb or 5.7 J.[1]

Handgun registration became law in 1934, and automatic firearms registration was added in 1951. In 1969, laws classified firearms as "non-restricted", "restricted", and "prohibited". Starting in 1979, people who wished to acquire firearms were required to obtain a firearms acquisition certificate (FAC) from their local police agency. From 1995 to present, all firearms owners are required to possess a firearms licence—either a possession and acquisition licence (PAL), a possession-only licence (POL), a FAC, or a minor's licence. In April 2012, the Parliament of Canada enacted the Ending the Long-gun Registry Act to eliminate the requirement to register non-restricted firearms that had existed from 2001 - 2012. The requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms licence remained law.[2]

A 1996 study showed that Canada was in the mid-range of firearm ownership when compared with eight other western nations. Nearly 22% of Canadian households had at least one firearm, including 2.3% of households possessing a handgun.[3] In 2005, almost 3% of households in Canada possessed handguns, compared to 18% of U.S. households that possessed handguns.[4] Also in 2005, almost 16% of households in Canada possessed firearms of some kind.[4] As of September 2010, the Canadian Firearms Program recorded a total of 1,831,327 valid firearm licences, which is roughly 5.4% of the Canadian population. The four most licensed provinces are Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia.[5]

On May 1, 2020, in the wake of a mass killing in Nova Scotia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada would immediately reclassify as prohibited around 1,500 models of "military-grade assault-style weapons", mostly semi-auto rifles, via an order in council under the authority of the Criminal Code.[6][7] In May 2022, Trudeau announced new legislation that would ban the ownership of "military-style assault weapons" in a mandatory gun buyback program, and impose restrictions banning the sale, purchase, importation or transfer of handguns (that were already restricted).[8] The legislation would also ban toys – such as airsoft guns – that look like guns.[9]

On October 21, 2022, the Government of Canada implemented a freeze on handgun (that were already restricted and registered) transfers and proposed a gun buyback program.[10] As of April 2024, collection of the "unloaded and secured" firearms that were reclassified as prohibited in "government-issued boxes" has not yet started with Canada Post reportedly informing the government of concerns about employee's security.[11]

  1. ^ "Firearms". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  2. ^ Gregg Lee Carter (2012). Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law, 2nd Edition [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. ABC-CLIO. pp. 250–. ISBN 978-0-313-38671-8. Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  3. ^ In a study of gun ownership in selected nations, Canada's level of gun ownership (21.8%) was similar to France's (23.8%) and Sweden's (16.6%). Of the eight countries compared, firearm ownership was highest in the United States (48.6%) and lowest in the Netherlands (2%)."Firearms in Canada and Eight Other Western Countries: Selected Findings of the 1996 International Crime (Victim) Survey" Archived 2014-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Canada Firearms Centre. Accessed: June 11, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective Archived 2013-01-20 at the Wayback Machine, by the International Crime Victims Survey. See Table 18 on page 279.
  5. ^ "Facts and Figures". Rcmp-grc.gc.ca. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  6. ^ "Justin Trudeau announces federal 'ban' on 'assault-style' firearms in Canada (Full transcript) - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  7. ^ Government of Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada (1 May 2020). "Canada Gazette, Part 2, Volume 154, Number 3: Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted". gazette.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. ^ Austen, Ian; Isai, Vjosa (2022-05-30). "Canada Aims to Force Owners of 'Military-Style Assault Weapons' to Turn Them In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  9. ^ Shakil, Ismail; Paperny, Anna Mehler (2022-05-31). "Canada introduces law to freeze handgun sales, ban look-alike toys". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  10. ^ Bronskill, Jim (2022-10-21). "Canada's freeze on handgun sales now in effect". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  11. ^ Leblanc, Daniel (April 23, 2024). "Canada Post refusing to collect banned guns for Ottawa's buyback program". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024.