Firearms regulation in Canada


Firearms regulation in Canada is largely about licensing and registration of firearms, including air guns with a muzzle velocity of more than and muzzle energy greater than. 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 from their local police agency. From 1995 to 2012, all firearms owners were required to possess a firearms licence and all firearms were required to be registered.
In April 2012, the Parliament of Canada enacted the Ending the Long-gun Registry Act to eliminate the requirement to register non-restricted firearms. The legislation also required the destruction of all records related to the registration of non-restricted firearms. The requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms licence remained law. The Act applied across Canada, but its implementation was temporarily delayed in Quebec, because the government of Quebec challenged the repeal in the courts. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Quebec, entirely eliminating non-restricted registry records. However, the government of Quebec received a partial copy of the deleted federal firearms registry, and created a Quebec firearms registry. Residents had until January 2019 to register all non-restricted firearms within Quebec.
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 ban around 1,500 models of "military-grade assault style weapons", mostly rifles, via an order in council under the authority of the Criminal Code. The law grants a two-year amnesty period and provides owners with various methods to dispose, register, or sell them.

History of firearm laws in Canada

Controls on civilian use of firearms date from the early days of Confederation, when justices of the peace could impose penalties for carrying a handgun without reasonable cause. Amendments to the Criminal Code between the 1890s and the 1970s introduced a series of minor controls on firearms. In the late 1970s, controls of intermediate strength were introduced. In the mid-1990s, significant increases in controls occurred. 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. 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. In 2005 almost 3% of households in Canada possessed handguns, compared to 18% of U.S. households that possessed handguns. In 2005 almost 16% of households in Canada possessed firearms of some kind.
The following is a summary of the history of gun control laws in Canada:
All licensing and registration is managed by the RCMP's Canadian Firearms Program, under the Deputy Commissioner Policing Support Services. In the Canadian system, there are three classes of firearms and firearm licences: non-restricted, restricted and prohibited. Prohibited firearms are not forbidden outright, as the name might imply, but their legal possession and acquisition are dependent upon their registration history and an individual's firearm licence. As of December 1, 1998, the prohibited clause must be grandfathered to acquire or possess prohibited firearms. See [|Classification of firearms] below for complete details on prohibited, restricted and non-restricted firearms.
Individuals who wish to possess or acquire firearms in Canada must have a valid possession-acquisition, or possession-only, licence ; either of these licences allows the licencee to purchase ammunition. The PAL is distributed exclusively by the RCMP and is generally obtained in the following three steps:
  1. Safety training: To be eligible to receive a PAL, all applicants must successfully complete the Canadian Firearms Safety Course for a non-restricted licence, and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course for a restricted licence; the non-restricted class is a prerequisite to the restricted licence. Each province/territory's chief firearms officer publishes information on the locations and availability of these courses.
  2. Applying for a licence: Currently only one type of licence is available to new applicants, the possession-acquisition licence. People can request a PAL by filling out Form CAFC 921.
  3. Security screening: Background checks and reference interviews are performed. All applicants are screened, and a mandatory 28-day waiting period is imposed on first-time applicants, but final approval time may be longer.
Licences are typically valid for five years and must be renewed prior to expiry to maintain all classes. Once licensed, an individual can apply for a firearm transfer; and an authorization to transport for restricted firearms. People may hunt with firearms in Canada only with non-restricted firearms, and this requires an additional "Hunting with Firearms" course.

Laws and regulations

Prohibited devices

Magazines designed to contain centre-fire cartridges and designed or manufactured for use in a semiautomatic handgun are limited to 10 cartridges. The capacity is measured by the kind of cartridge the magazine was designed to contain. In some cases the magazine will be capable of containing more than 10 rounds of a different calibre; however, that is not relevant in the determination of the maximum permitted capacity.
The maximum permitted capacity of a magazine is determined by the kind of firearm it is designed or manufactured for and not the kind of firearm that might actually use it. As a consequence, the maximum permitted capacity remains the same regardless of which firearm it might be used in. Example: The Marlin Camp Carbine chambered for.45 ACP uses magazines designed and manufactured for the M1911 pistol, therefore the seven- and eight-round capacities are permitted. A similar example is the 10-round capacity magazine for the Rock River Arms LAR-15 pistol, regardless of the kind of firearm it is actually used in.
Many common magazines are manufactured to hold more rounds than law allows in Canada. These magazines must be permanently altered so they no longer hold more than the number of rounds allowed by law. Acceptable ways to alter a magazine are set out in the Criminal Code Regulations.

Age restrictions

By law, a potential customer must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a firearm or legally maintain possession of one. People under the age of 18 but over the age of 12 may procure a minor's licence, which does not allow them to purchase a firearm but allows them to borrow a firearm unsupervised and purchase ammunition. Children under the age of 12 that are found to need a firearm to hunt or trap may also be awarded the minor's licence. This is generally reserved for children in remote locations, primarily aboriginal communities that engage in subsistence hunting.

Registration

On January 1, 2001, all firearms in Canada were required to be registered with the Canadian Firearms Registry. In early 2006, the Conservative party became the largest party in the House of Commons, and the new government announced an amnesty period of one year in which licensed or previously licensed long gun owners would not be punished for not registering their long guns. The legal requirement to register as set forth by law has not been revoked; legislation to revoke the requirement to register long guns was introduced by the government during the 39th Parliament but was not brought to a vote. It was opposed by the Opposition parties who together had a majority of seats in the House of Commons. Similar legislation was again brought forward in the form of private member's Bill C-391 during the 40th Parliament but was narrowly defeated on September 22, 2010. During the 41st Parliament the newly formed Conservative majority government again introduced legislation to repeal the requirement to register non-restricted firearms and to destroy the registry database. Bill C-19 passed both the House and Senate and received royal assent on April 5, 2012. The repeal of the long gun registry had been a long-standing campaign promise of the Conservative Party.

Restricted firearms

Canada's federal laws severely restrict the ability of civilians to transport restricted or prohibited firearms in public. Section 17 of the Firearms Act makes it an offence to possess prohibited or restricted firearms other than at a dwelling-house or authorized location, but there are two exceptions to this prohibition found in sections 19 and 20 of the act. Section 19 allows for persons to be issued an authorization to transport, or ATT, authorizing the transport of a firearm outside the home for certain purposes, such as for its transfer to a new owner, going to and from a range, a training course, repair shop or gun show, or when the owner wishes to change the address where the firearm is stored. Such firearms must be transported unloaded, equipped with a trigger lock and stored in secure, locked containers. In rarer cases, section 20 of the act allows individuals to receive an authorization to carry, or ATC, granting permission to carry loaded restricted firearms or prohibited handguns on their persons for certain reasons specified in the act. These reasons are as follows: if the person is a licensed trapper and carries the firearm while trapping, if the person is in a remote wilderness area and needs the firearm for protection against wildlife, if the person's work involves guarding or handling money or other items of substantial value, or if the person's life is in imminent danger and police protection is inadequate to protect the person. The authorities almost never issue an ATC on the basis that a person's life is in imminent danger and police protection is inadequate. The vast majority of ATC's issued are to employees of armoured car companies to allow carry of a company owned firearm only while working.

Legality of self-defence

The issue of the legality of self-defence with a firearm in Canada has been the subject of controversy. While self-defence is legal, it is very restricted. The Criminal Code recognizes self-defence with a firearm. The Firearms Act provides a legal framework wherein an individual may acquire, possess and carry a restricted or prohibited firearm for protection from other individuals when police protection is deemed insufficient. This situation is extremely rare: the RCMP authorization to carry application refers only to protection of life during employment that involves handling of valuable goods or dangerous wildlife.
While self-defence is rarely considered a legal reason for attaining a PAL, the use of force with a firearm is legal as long as the accused can prove that his or her life was in danger. Sections 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code provide the legal framework of the use of force against intruders.

Classification of firearms

Like licences, firearms are classified into prohibited, restricted and non-restricted categories, as defined by Part III of Criminal Code

Prohibited firearms

A category that includes several different categories of firearm designed before 1898, although not all firearms built before this cutoff date are eligible for antique classification. Guns considered antiques are not legally considered firearms, and can be purchased and owned without a PAL. The following types of firearm are classified as antiques if they were both designed and manufactured before 1898:
The following guns are considered antiques if they were designed before 1898, regardless of manufacture date, making modern replicas free to possess:
In the years immediately following the introduction of firearms licensing in Canada in 1976, the overall homicide rate did not significantly decline. Increases were seen in the proportion of murders committed by methods other than shooting; but these homicides were less likely to involve multiple victims. From 1977 to 2003, Canada firearm homicide has declined from 1.15 to 0.5 per 100,000, while other mechanisms declined from 1.85 to 1.23 per 100,000.
A comprehensive review of firearm control legislation found that studies on the effects of the 1977 bill C-51 and bill C-68 from 1995 on firearm homicide rates came to differing conclusions, but generally found that bill C-17 from 1991 was not associated with all of firearm homicides. A 2011 study found no significant associations between gun laws passed and firearm homicide rates in Canada from 1974 to 2008.
As of 2010, shooting and stabbing represented the two most common mechanisms for homicide in Canada, each accounting for approximately one-third of murders.
Overall suicide in Canada peaked in 1978 at 14.5 per 100,000, declining by 22% by 2004. Several studies have found that the 1977 bill C-51 was linked to lower suicide and firearm suicide rates in Canada. Several studies examining the effect of bill C-17 found that it was associated with a decline in firearm suicides, but that the rate of overall suicides did not change, largely because of a rise in suicides due to hanging, suggesting a substitution of suicide methods.
Accidental death, of any kind, claimed 27.9 people per 100,000 in 2000. Of these, firearms accidents accounted for 0.3%, ranking below the 37% for transportation, 28% for unspecified, 18% for falls, and 11% for poisoning. Two studies by Leenaars and Lester using national data from 1969 to 1985 find that bill C-51 was associated with a reduced accidental death rate from firearms.