2022 Commissioner of Firearms Report

RCMP Canadian Firearms Program

Ottawa ON  K1A 0R2

1-800-731-4000 (toll free)
1-613-825-0315 (fax)

Website: Firearms

Email: cfp-pcaf@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Media Relations

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

1-613-843-5999

Statistics that apply for the entire year

Partners

The program works with various domestic and international partners, by:

• providing firearms-related policy support and technical information to Public Safety Canada;
• providing technical guidance on firearms-related questions for international, cross-border issues to the Canada Border Services Agency and Global Affairs Canada;
• supporting the Department of Justice and Public Safety Canada, on legal policy development in firearms-related criminal law;
• supporting Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada on firearms legislation and related issues that are of particular interest to Indigenous Peoples;
• collaborating with municipal, provincial and territorial law enforcement agencies on investigations leading to prosecution of individuals involved in the smuggling, trafficking and criminal use of firearms; and
• working with international partners, including law enforcement agencies from the United States and INTERPOL, to help reduce the illegal movement of firearms across borders and sharing of the Firearms Reference Table with 195 countries.

Elements of Bill C-71 coming into force

Bill C-71 updated several aspects of the firearms legislation, and received Royal Assent in 2019. Various provisions have come into force over time to allow firearms owners, businesses and the Canadian Firearms Program to prepare for the changes. Two provisions came into force in May 2022.

First, individuals and businesses transferring a non-restricted firearm are now required to first obtain a reference number from the Registrar of Firearms (the Registrar). By issuing this reference number, the Registrar is confirming the validity of the firearms licence of the person receiving the firearm (a reference number may be obtained through the Canadian Firearms Program's web services portals). The Registrar does not collect any information on the non-restricted firearm being transferred.

This requirement resulted in a high volume of calls and emails to the program, as buyers and sellers complied with this new requirement. For the first time, this year's report includes metrics about this process and how it is working (see table below).

Second, firearms businesses are also required to retain, for at least 20 years, the sales and inventory records related to non-restricted firearms, including make, model and serial number. This requirement ensures the records are available for supporting an investigation or a prosecution of firearms-related offences, such as firearms trafficking. Businesses create the records based on their own inventory systems, and they, not government, keep these records. Police will require judicial authorization to access these records. Companies that go out of business must forward their records to the Registrar, who may destroy the records 20 years after receiving them.

Prior to this, changes to automatic Authorizations to Transport restricted and prohibited firearms, and mandatory lifetime background checks for licence applicants had been brought into force in July 2021. These two legislative changes now make it mandatory for Chief Firearms Officers to consider eligibility factors for the duration of a person's life when determining whether or not they are eligible to hold a firearms licence, and require licensed owners of registered firearms to apply to the Chief Firearms Officer for an Authorization to Transport, a restricted or prohibited firearm to any place other than to (a) an approved shooting club or shooting range within the owner's province of residence, or (b) to the firearm's place of storage after purchase.

Changes in handgun regulations in 2022

In August, Global Affairs Canada introduced temporary import control measures related to restricted handguns. All individuals and businesses importing a restricted handgun into Canada now require an import permit issued by Global Affairs Canada.

In October, two changes to handgun regulations were introduced that restricted Chief Firearms Officers' ability to authorize the transfer and issuance of Authorizations to Transport handguns.

A national freeze on the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns by individuals within Canada came into force by regulations, which also means that bringing newly-acquired handguns into Canada would no longer be permitted.

A Chief Firearms Officer may authorize the transfer of a handgun to an individual only if the individual buying the handgun needs the handgun for at least one of the following reasons:

1. to protect the life of an individual or other individual pursuant to an Authorization to Carry issued as per section 20(a) of the Firearms Act;
2. for use in connection with his or her lawful profession or occupation pursuant to an Authorization to Carry issued as per section 20(b) of the Firearms Act; or
3. to train, compete or coach in a handgun shooting discipline that is on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee, and the individual provides a letter to a Chief Firearms Officer from a provincial or national sport shooting governing body indicating:
   1. that the individual trains, competes or coaches in such a discipline;
   2. the specific discipline in which the individual trains, competes or coaches; and
   3. that the handgun that the individual seeks to acquire is necessary for training, competing or coaching in that specific discipline.

Overseeing firearms licensing and registration

Firearms licensing and registration are the program's public-facing responsibility. These services allow for individual Canadians and businesses, including manufacturers, retail stores, shooting ranges and museums to apply for licences (to possess, carry, buy, sell or display firearms and/or ammunition) and registration certificates.

Chief Firearms Officers are responsible for overseeing certain aspects of the Firearms Act in their provincial and territorial jurisdictions, and have discretionary authority to:

• approve and refuse licensing applications for individuals and businesses;
• approve and refuse Authorizations to Transport and Authorizations to Carry firearms;
• approve shooting clubs and ranges;
• conduct inspections of businesses and shooting ranges;
• monitor the continuous eligibility of firearms licensees; and
• revoke licences, authorizations and approvals.

Chief Firearms Officers are responsible for overseeing the delivery of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course.

The Registrar is responsible for overseeing certain aspects of the Firearms Act for all provinces and territories, and has authority to:

• approve and refuse registration and transfer applications for individuals and businesses;
• approve and refuse carrier licence applications;
• issue and refuse licence verification requests;
• provide technical support for the verification of firearms;
• issue, refuse and revoke designations for firearm verifiers;
• verify accuracy of firearms classification information;
• process firearms description change requests;
• process requests for deactivation, destruction, export and antique status; and
• issue Public Agency Identification Numbers and process public agency firearm applications and inventories.

As of December 31, 2022, Canada had:

• 2,264,147 valid Possession and Acquisition Licences and 8,613 valid Minor's firearms licences (Table 1)
• 1,285,832 registered firearms - only restricted and prohibited firearms must be registered (Table 10)
• 4,091 licensed firearms businesses, not including museums and carriers. Of these, 1,663 businesses were licensed to sell only ammunition (Table 13)

The tables that follow include data on licensing.

Table 2 provides a breakdown of Possession and Acquisition Licences year over year, since 2018.

In 2022, the Canadian Firearms Program issued 433,064 Possession and Acquisition Licences (new and renewed) and new Minor's Licences (Table 3).

In 2022, the CFP issued 432,321 individual licences, including new licences and renewals for Possession and Acquisition Licences and new Minor's Licences (Table 4).

Firearms fall into one of three classes, as defined in subsection 84(1) of the Criminal Code:

• Non-restricted firearms - typically shotguns and rifles;
• Restricted firearms - predominantly handguns; and
• Prohibited firearms - certain handguns and fully automatic or converted automatic firearms.

In 2022, there were 1,506,874 Possession and Acquisition Licences with non-restricted privileges, 716,348 with restricted privileges, and 41,520 with prohibited privileges (Table 5).

In 2022, there were 923 firearms licence applications refused for various public safety reasons (Tables 6 and 7). Under the Firearms Act, Chief Firearms Officers are authorized to refuse an application for a firearms licence based on their assessment of the applicant's risk to public safety.

As part of the Canadian Firearms Program's mandate to promote public safety, firearms licence applicants are screened to assess their eligibility to possess a firearms licence. After a firearms licence is issued, continuous eligibility screening is conducted over the term of the licence. Information of concern that is brought to the attention of a Chief Firearms Officer may bring an individual's eligibility to hold a licence into question. That individual might then be subject to review.

Under the Firearms Act, Chief Firearms Officers are authorized to revoke a firearms licence based on their assessment of the licence holder's risk to public safety. There were 3,315 firearms licences revoked in 2022 (Tables 8 and 9). Similar to licence application refusals, an individual may challenge a licence revocation by applying to a provincial court for a reference hearing, unless the revocation is the result of a court-ordered firearms prohibition. As a result, some of these revocations may have been referred to, or overturned by, the courts since the initial revocation.

All restricted and prohibited firearms in Canada possessed by individuals or businesses must be registered. As of December 31, 2022, there were 1,285,832 restricted or prohibited firearms registered to individuals or businesses in Canada (Tables 10 and 11).

The Registrar of Firearms has the authority to refuse firearm registration applications and revoke registration certificates based on a failure to meet the eligibility criteria under the Firearms Act. In 2022, there were 11 firearm registration applications refused and 9,124 firearm registration certificates revoked (Table 12).

Under the Firearms Act, firearms licence holders are responsible for renewing their licences prior to expiry. The Canadian Firearms Program facilitates this process by sending renewal notices to licensees prior to the expiry of their current licence. A total of 346,819 individual Possession and Acquisition Licences expired in 2022 (Chart 1). There were 54,794 expired licences with a restricted or prohibited firearm registered to them at the time of expiration. Of these expired licences, 51,082 licence holders renewed them, but 3,712 licence holders did not (Chart 2). The Canadian Firearms Program works internally and with program partners to follow up on those individuals who do not renew their licences to determine the current status of their firearms.

Under section 89 of the Firearms Act, every court, judge, or justice that makes, varies, or revokes a firearms prohibition order must notify the Chief Firearms Officer in their jurisdiction. Firearms licence applicant screening includes checking whether an applicant is subject to a prohibition order. A prohibition order prevents an individual from legally possessing a firearm for a specified period of time and results in the refusal of a firearms licence application or the revocation of a firearms licence. As of December 31, 2022, there were 495,443 individuals prohibited from possessing firearms (Chart 3).

Reducing the inventory

Turnaround times for processing licence applications and renewals were at times challenged during the pandemic because of the program's reduced workforce and reliance on paper-based processing. Efforts to increase processing capacity by realigning and increasing staff, as well as process reengineering, helped to reduce the inventory.

Digital service delivery takes a big step

Through its Canadian Firearms Digital Services Solution Project, the Canadian Firearms Program has initiated development of a new, user-friendly online portal and case management system. Program clients clearly like services that have an online option; more than 70% of applicants have been choosing digital rather than paper for their Possession and Acquisition Licence renewals. Continuing the online service options aim to:

• simplify processing, both for applicants and for program staff;
• significantly reduce processing times; and
• provide enhanced service.

In 2022, the program launched two key products online, making it easier for Canadians to apply for an Authorization to Transport or a Possession and Acquisition Licence. (Find out what's next in the program's digital transformation in Looking ahead.)

Maintaining national firearm safety training standards

To be licensed to acquire firearms in Canada, individuals must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course before applying for a Possession and Acquisition Licence. The Canadian Firearms Safety Course is designed to apply to the broadest possible spectrum of novice firearms users; as an introductory safety course, it is intended for all new firearms users.

The course emphasizes safe storage, display, transportation, handling and use of firearms but safety depends on more than just safe physical actions. Safe handling must include greater knowledge of the firearms themselves, ammunition and the laws and regulations related to them.

Individuals who wish to acquire restricted firearms must also pass the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course.

The Canadian Firearms Program is responsible for the continued development, implementation, and evaluation of national firearms safety standards, and the content of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course. Feedback on courses is received regularly by the provinces and territories, national organizations with an ongoing interest in firearms safety, and firearms instructors from across Canada.

In addition to the safety courses, educational initiatives in jurisdictions continue to promote safe storage and handling of firearms. For example, the province of Quebec has distributed trigger locks and an information card on suicide prevention as part of safety course delivery in 2022. Students were encouraged to post the card in plain sight where their firearms are stored.

Promoting compliance by firearms businesses

Businesses form an important part of the Canadian Firearms Program's client base. A business, museum or organization that manufactures, sells, possesses, handles, displays, or stores firearms or ammunition must possess a valid firearms business licence. Employees who handle firearms for these businesses must also possess valid Possession and Acquisitions Licences for the class of firearms being handled, and be listed as employees on the business licence. All restricted and prohibited firearms in a business inventory must be registered. Periodic business inspections are performed to verify safe and lawful business practices, including firearms storage and display. As of December 31, 2022, there were 4,091 firearms businesses in Canada licensed under the Firearms Act (Table 13).

In 2022, the Ontario Chief Firearms Officer developed the Enhanced Business Inspection Model. It promotes physical, technical, and administrative controls to help detect security risks in a way that exceeds legislative requirements. The model's emphasis on heightened security makes an important contribution to individual, business and general public safety. The Ontario Chief Firearms Officer shared the model with Chief Firearms Officers across Canada, as a best practice.

Updated training for range inspections

With the introduction of updated Shooting Range Guidelines, a long-time business and range inspector for Ontario recognized an opportunity to update the training for range inspections by incorporating this new material. The updates were developed using Global Positioning System technologies, and tested at a range that hosts various shooting disciplines. The test evaluated how the Guidelines introduced in the classroom were applied in the field. The new training module was used for ongoing inspections in 2022.

This training is being reviewed as part of the national training standard for range inspections.

National Weapons Enforcement Support

The National Weapons Enforcement Support Team offers direct support to investigators on all aspects of firearms investigations and prosecutions, and on intelligence sharing with respect to the illegal movement and criminal use of firearms. It provides expert opinion evidence to the court and support to Crown attorneys on firearms law and its application. The team also partnered with the Canada Border Services Agency to investigate and intercept illegal firearms entering Canada through border crossings, and partnered with Global Affairs Canada to investigate international firearms sales. In addition to domestic law enforcement partners, the team regularly liaises with international agencies, such as United States Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on cross-border smuggling and investigations.

The team had a busy 2022. It responded to over 10,000 service calls from Canadian and international law enforcement agencies, regulatory partners or Crown attorneys, which represented an increase of 22% compared to 2021. This also represents a 40% increase since additional funding was received in 2019 from the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence as part of the government's Gang Violence Prevention and Intervention Investments.

In collaboration with international partners, including the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the team shared intelligence to identify and disrupt cross-border firearms smuggling. The Quebec team, alone, supported 54 cross-border firearm trafficking investigations involving United States partners.

In more than 200 sessions across the country, the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team trained 3,854 individuals — a 58% jump in participants and a 91% increase in training sessions since 2019. This advanced training for front-line law enforcement and Crown attorneys, and directly supported public safety.

Three firearms analyst workshops, delivered for the first time in Atlantic Canada, trained 91 participants from 19 different law enforcement agencies as firearms examiners. Besides developing knowledge and skills for firearms investigations, the participants solidified partnerships and intelligence sharing.

Firearms tracing

The Canadian National Firearms Tracing Centre assists front-line policing by providing an extensive firearms tracing service for Canadian, United States and international law enforcement agencies and is the only national program that traces firearms domestically and internationally.

For all trace requests, the tracing centre investigates the history of a firearm, from its manufacture or introduction into commerce by the importer through the distribution chain (wholesalers and retailers) to identify the last known owner or business. The centre also liaises with various international law enforcement partners, including the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and INTERPOL's Integrated Weapons and Explosives Tracking System.

Firearm tracing provides strategic benefits in the form of linking criminal use of firearms to specific vendors, identifying trafficking routes and patterns. Tracing provides:

• Linkages between a suspect and a firearm;
• Flags potential traffickers;
• Helps identify local, provincial and international firearms crime patterns;
• Produces invaluable investigative leads; and
• Provides law enforcement decision makers and government officials with accurate statistical data.

Investments were made in Canada's firearms control framework, and additional resources were made available through the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence. The tracing centre hired more tracing investigators and expanded its outreach. With its greater capacity, the tracing centre was able to better support the RCMP's March 2022 policy to make tracing of all crime guns mandatory.

These investments also allowed the tracing centre to set up a new national tracing repository for capturing firearms tracing data. The repository supported the development of greater intelligence and investigative leads into firearms smuggling and trafficking.

In 2022, the tracing centre traced the origins of 5,022 firearms, a 48% increase compared to 2021.

The tracing centre also trains front-line police officers and specialized enforcement units on the strategic and tactical benefits of firearms tracing and how it helps to solve crime. It can point the way to other crimes and criminals, sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, in one case in 2022, an individual who did not possess a valid firearms licence committed suicide with a firearm. Although the firearm had not been reported lost or stolen, investigators were able to trace the firearm back to the owner. After discovering how the two individuals were connected, the investigators were able to execute a search warrant and found multiple, illegal firearms leading to firearms trafficking charges.

Specialized Firearms Support Services

The Specialized Firearms Support Services unit is a centre of expertise for the identification and description of firearms in Canada. The unit is regularly called on to provide technical firearms information, advice and training to domestic and international governments and police services. The unit provides:

• overall management and maintenance of the Firearms Reference Table;
• digital photography of firearms and prohibited devices;
• delivery of training on firearm identification and firearm safety;
• firearm inspections and production of reports and affidavits;
• support of reference hearings and court proceedings;
• maintenance of the national firearms collection;
• firearm destruction; and
• domestic and international law enforcement agencies and government departments assistance for firearm identification and other technical support.

The team prepares and maintains the Firearms Reference Table, that represents a global centre of expertise for the identification and description of firearms in Canada.

The Firearms Reference Table is a comprehensive, single-source reference tool that helps identify and describe firearms. The reference table is used by domestic and international law enforcement agencies, including 195 INTERPOL member countries. A version of the reference table is also available to the public in Portable Document Format.

The Firearms Reference Table is an administrative document tool, not a legal instrument. The Specialized Firearms Support Services unit maintains the table by conducting technical assessments of firearms based on firearm classifications set out in the Criminal Code and supporting regulations; the Firearms Reference Table is the most comprehensive and systematic firearms reference database in existence worldwide.

The reference table contains more than 200,000 individual records. In 2022, 2,661 new records were added and 5,714 records were updated.

Firearms Internet Investigations Support

Firearms Internet Investigations Support conducts open-source internet investigations to assist Chief Firearms Officers in assessing the eligibility for someone to hold a firearms licence.

Firearms Internet Investigations Support also works with law enforcement agencies at the municipal, regional, provincial/territorial, federal and international levels to assist in ongoing law enforcement firearms investigations.

In 2022, Firearms Internet Investigations Support conducted open-source, internet investigations in response to:

• 123 requests from law enforcement; and
• 157 requests from Chief Firearms Officers and other regulatory authorities.

Firearms Marking Regulations

The federal government postponed the changes to the Firearms Marking Regulations that were scheduled to come into force in 2020, deferring them until December 1, 2023.

Next steps in the program's digital future

The Canadian Firearms Program is continuing to move more services online to better serve our clients in ways that are modern, efficient, and simple. As of 2022, the Canadian Firearms Digital Services Solution leveraged cloud-based technologies to deliver a user-friendly online portal and case management system and is in phase two of a five-phase project.

By the end of 2023, new services will include online applications for a Minor's Licence, a photo exemption, a fee waiver and changes to support the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms). The next release, in early 2024, will include online applications for shooting clubs and ranges, and for businesses and carriers. By 2026, the project aims to have most paper-based applications and existing online services migrated to the new system.

Privately manufactured firearms

It is illegal to manufacture or possess a firearm without an appropriate, valid licence and the applicable registration certificate. In the absence of these requirements, an individual who possesses a "ghost gun" or a firearm manufactured with a 3D printer, for example, could have their firearm seized and be charged under the Criminal Code.

Privately-made or manufactured firearms are a growing concern in Canada and internationally. 3D printers and the digital blueprints needed to make a firearm are widely available, inexpensive and easy to use. There is an expanding, online community that shares information about how to manufacture these types of firearms. The Canadian Firearms Program is actively working with governments and law enforcement of domestic and international jurisdictions to address this threat.

The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security noted in its 2022 report, "A Path Forward: Reducing Gun and Gang Violence in Canada", Section 5.4.2, that the reproduction of privately-made firearms is currently unregulated in Canada, and a recognized problem. The Committee has recommended that the Government of Canada regulate the possession, sale and import of the parts used to assemble privately-made firearms; develop a strategy to counteract the manufacturing of such firearms; and amend the definition of a firearm in the Criminal Code.

New Shooting Range Guidelines

In 2023, the Canadian Firearms Program will publish new Shooting Range Guidelines, to improve the assessment and safety of shooting ranges.

These guidelines explain design and construction standards for ranges. Chief Firearms Officers rely on these guidelines to inform their assessment.