It is often said that there is "no right to bear arms in Canada rather there is a PRIVILEGE to own and use firearms" without getting into a political debate I'd like to just share with you all the general regulations of owning and using firearms here in Canada!
A BRIEF HISTORY
Up until 2012, in order to acquire and/or possess a firearm whether it be a long gun (ie. rifle, shotgun etc) or a handgun, you were required to have either a POL (Possession Only License) and/or a FAC (Firearms Acquisition Certificate) and ALL types of firearms had to be REGISTERED with the government.
However in April 2012, the Parliament of Canada enacted the "Ending the Long-gun Registry Act" to eliminate the requirement to register NON-RESTRICTED firearms (long guns).
Handguns still require registration.
The requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms license remained law and is now under one PAL (Possession and Acquisition License).
FIREARMS CLASSIFICATIONS IN CANADA
You might have noticed above where I stated "Non-Restricted Firearms" That is because there are 2+1 MAIN Classifications of Firearms in Canada and the rules and regulations for each classification differ.
- PROHIBITED
- RESTRICTED
- NON-RESTRICTED
Below are the classifications cited from Wikipedia for all of the details, but I will continue to go over the 2 main classifications in brief afterwards.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Canada#Classification_of_firearms)
Prohibited firearms
Handguns
with a barrel length less than 105 millimetres (4.1 in), or;
that are designed to discharge .25 or .32 calibre ammunition (subject to exception for international sport competitions)
Rifles and shotguns
that have been altered by sawing, cutting or any other means, so that:
the barrel length is less than 457 millimetres (18.0 in) (regardless of overall length), or;
the overall length is less than 660 millimetres (26 in)
Firearms which have fully automatic fire capability, or "converted automatics"
(i.e.: firearms which were originally fully automatic, but have been modified to discharge ammunition in a semi-automatic fashion)
Firearms prescribed as prohibited by the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted (SOR/98-462):.[35] This includes all versions (even semi-automatic) of certain military weapons such as the AK-47 and the FN-FAL.
Firearm capable of discharging dart or other object carrying electric current or substance, including Taser Public Defender and any variant or modified version of it
Firearm known as SSS-1 Stinger and any similar firearm designed or of a size to fit in the palm of the hand
Hundreds of other firearms listed by name, including any variants or modified versions. The list includes shotguns, carbines, rifles, pistols, and submachine guns.
Firearms prescribed as prohibited by the 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 (SOR/2020-96)[57]
Rifles of the designs commonly known as ArmaLite AR-10, ArmaLite AR-15, M16, M14, Robinson Armament XCR, and SIG SG 550 (including any variants or modified versions)
Carbines of the designs commonly known as Beretta Cx4 Storm, CZ Scorpion Evo 3, M4 and SIG SG 551 (including any variants or modified versions)
Pistols of the design commonly known as CZ Scorpion EVO 3
Firearms with bore diameters of 20mm or more (despite concerns expressed by some,[58] this does not include 10 gauge and 12 gauge shotguns with removable chokes)
**Firearms that produce 10,000 joules of energy or more **(including .50 BMG caliber rifles)
Restricted firearms
All handguns are restricted firearms at a minimum; some handguns are prohibited firearms (see above).
Any firearm that is:
not prohibited that has a barrel length less than 470 millimetres (18.5 in), and is capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner.
Any firearm that can be fired when the overall length has been reduced by folding, telescoping, or other means to less than 660 millimetres (26 in)
Firearms prescribed as restricted by the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted (SOR/98-462)
The firearms of the designs commonly known as the High Standard Model 10, Series A shotgun and the High Standard Model 10, Series B shotgun, and any variants or modified versions of them.
Non-restricted
Firearms, other than those referred to above.
LOL My apologies for the long and technical read! But basically here is the gist of it...
PROHIBITED
You plain CANNOT acquire or possess any firearm, parts, ammunition etc. classified as prohibited! You can't buy them in any stores and the only way you would get your hands on anything in this category is through illegal means anyway in which case you could be criminally prosecuted!
NON-RESTRICTED
Basically anything that does not fall under PROHIBITED or RESTRICTED in the general sense, most long guns like rifles and shotguns.
Most Canadians will own non-restricted firearms as they are mainly used for hunting and any other recreational purposes and DO NOT NEED TO BE REGISTERED to the government!
The nice thing is you CAN carry and discharge these firearms in a lot of designated places (as long as it is in a safe manner) such as PUBLIC LAND, your property (if your municipal laws allow it), shooting ranges, etc.! You will see below it is not the case for RESTRICTED...
RESTRICTED
Aside from anything that would make it fall under "PROHIBITED", Restricted firearms in a general sense would be ANY AND ALL HANDGUNS.
ALL firearms in this classification CAN ONLY BE ACQUIRED AND POSSESSED with an R-PAL (Restricted Possession & Acquisition License) which I will go over later.
ALL RESTRICTED FIREARMS MUST BE REGISTERED TO THE GOVERNMENT. Which means they know who owns what, when you got it, etc.
ALL RESTRICTED (Handguns) Firearms CANNOT be carried or discharged on Public Land. They can ONLY be transported to DESIGNATED Pistol Ranges (not just any shooting range) and you MUST obtain a TRANSPORT PERMIT before doing so.
Yes you heard it right! You can't carry a handgun with you when you go out hunting. You can't conceal or open carry. You can only transport it to & from YOUR HOUSE (from safe storage) to a DESIGNATED PISTOL RANGE and even then you NEED to get a TRANSPORT PERMIT to do so!
But it is what it is and we gotta work with what we got!
CONCLUSION
Overall it is a bit more difficult to obtain the R-PAL in order to acquire and possess a handgun and ownership of it is generally more regulated... BUT... it isn't impossible to own and use handguns in Canada as you can see, I own one as well.
And I enjoy practicing with it at my local Designated Pistol Range, as well as dry-fire practice drills at home!
WHAT ARE YOUR LOCAL GUN LAWS?
Thank you for reading if you've made it all the way here! I'd be interested in hearing your feedback on it, as well as leave me your questions in the comments below as I may have missed going through some details since there is just SOOOO MUCH lol.
Also, what are the gun laws like where you are?
Regards,
Outdoors Anonymous