Gun laws in Canada

Gun legislation in Canada is largely about licensing and registration. Handgun registration became law in 1934, and automatic firearms were added in 1951. In 1969, laws classified firearms as "non-restricted", "restricted" and "prohibited". Starting in 1979, individuals who wished to acquire firearms were required to obtain a firearms aquisition certificate ('FAC') from their local police agency. From 1995 on, all firearms owners were required to possess a firearms licence (either a 'PAL', 'POL', 'FAC', or a 'minors licence') and all firearms were required to be registered. In April 2012 the requirement to register non-restricted firearms was dropped in every province and territory, except for Quebec; the requirement for all firearms owners to possess a valid firearms licence remains law, http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/information/lic-per-eng.htm. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against Quebec, thus the non-restricted registry records were destroyed in their entirety. Gun laws in Canada thus tend to be significantly stricter than most states of the United States but significantly laxer in comparison to the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

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.

...
Wikipedia