Statistics

[ Archives ]

Quick Facts about the Canadian Firearms Program as of March 31, 2006

Firearms Licences and Registration of Firearms

• Of the 2 million firearms licences issued to individuals under the Firearms Act, there are:
  

• 1.18 million Possession Only Licences (POLs)
• 782,000 Possession and Acquisition Licences (PALs)
• 5,700 Minors Licences
  

• 1.64 million individual licence holders have at least one firearm registration certificate.
  

• There are 4,395 valid business licences - purposes for a business licence include:
  retail / wholesale of firearms, manufacturing, auction, display in a museum and gunsmithing.
  

• Of the close to 7.1 million firearms currently registered:
  

• 6.82 million firearms are registered to individuals
• 218,000 firearms are registered to businesses
• 45,400 firearms are registered or recorded to public agencies & museums

Individual Licence Refusal and Revocation

• 17,226 firearms licences have been refused or revoked by Chief Firearms Officers for public safety reasons between December 1, 1998 and March 31, 2006.
  

• 6,311 applications have been refused
  

• 10,915 firearms licences have been revoked.

Note: Reasons why firearms licence applications have been refused or licences revoked include: a history of violence, mental illness, the applicant is a potential risk to himself, herself or others, unsafe firearm use and storage, drug offences and providing false information.

Affidavits

• More than 6,950 affidavits have been provided by the Canadian Firearms Registry to support the prosecution of firearms-related crime and court proceedings.
  

• the Canadian Firearms Registry prepared 762 affidavits in the first quarter of 2006

Firearms Transfers

• 1,143,975 applications for firearm transfers have been completed since December 1, 1998.

Note: Transfer breakdowns do not include transfers to public agencies or museums.

Firearms Exported, Destroyed, Deactivated or Removed

• 1,154,722 firearms have been exported, destroyed, deactivated or have been removed from the Canadian Firearms Information System since December 1, 1998. This helps to ensure a complete and current record of firearms within Canada.

[ Archives ]