Canada outlaws another 179 types of firearms, announces classification review

RCMP Senior Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin, left, takes party in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, March 7, 2025, on new measures to address gun violence in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — The Liberal government has outlawed another 179 firearm varieties, adding to the list of prohibited guns it considers too dangerous for use by hunters or sport shooters.

The government says all current and future variants of the newly listed firearms are prohibited, whether or not they are named in regulations.

Since May 2020, the federal government has banned more than 2,500 varieties of what it calls assault-style firearms -- semi-automatics with sustained rapid-fire capability.

“Let’s be clear. These are weapons of war, firearms designed specifically to kill as many people as possible in the least amount of time possible,” said Associate Minister of Public Safety Rachel Bendayan.

“Firearms meant for the battlefield should never see the light of day on our streets,” she told a news conference Friday.

The prohibited firearms can no longer be used, bought or sold in Canada -- but the federal government is extending a limited exception in some cases for sustenance hunting.

The government says a federal buyback program will give current owners fair compensation for their outlawed firearms.

The program is already available to businesses, and the government plans to begin expanding it to individual owners this spring.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin told the news conference the planned buyback program for individuals, which involves collecting and destroying banned firearms, is a “large, complex initiative.”

Larkin said the RCMP, which administers Canada’s firearms regime, was trying to avoid placing additional demands on frontline officers by looking at “alternative staffing models,” such as engaging public servants to help with the buyback.

Amnesty orders protect existing owners from criminal liability for the time being.

Gun-control advocacy groups, including PolySeSouvient, applauded the federal announcement Friday, describing it as a “near-complete ban on assault-style weapons.”

The groups cautioned, however, that the measures could be reversed by the Conservatives if they form the next government, given the party’s long-standing opposition to Liberal gun-control efforts.

The Liberals are still implementing some elements of firearm legislation that has already received royal assent, including provisions to better respond to instances of firearms-related violence involving intimate partners and families.

“We do not expect a Conservative government to enact the measures that the Liberal government has passed,” said Heidi Rathjen of PolySeSouvient. “That’s why it’s so important to make sure they’re in effect as soon as possible, before an election is held.”

The government also announced a review of firearm classification that will look at modernizing the legal framework for prohibited guns to close gaps in the law.

Government officials say 19,000 unique makes and models of non-restricted firearms remain available for hunting or sport shooting in Canada.

The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights called the latest federal announcement “deceitful and deceptive” and rejected the argument that Liberal gun-control measures have had no effect on hunting or recreational shooting.

“This is clearly and entirely false,” the group said in a statement. “In fact, licensed gun owners are the only group that have been targeted by everything the Liberals have done on guns.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press