Canadian Firearms Program - Facts and Figures

October-December 2008

As of January 8, 2009; calendar year is used unless otherwise stated.

Quick Links

• Firearms licensing performance information
• Firearms registration performance information

Firearms Licensing

Firearms Licences

There are currently 3 types of firearms licences for individuals in Canada: the Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), the Possession Only Licence (POL) and the Minor’s Licence. Only the PAL and Minor’s Licence are available for new applicants.

• Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL): allows the licence holder to possess and acquire firearms and ammunition.
• Possession Only Licence (POL):  allows the licence holder to possess, but not acquire, firearms, and to both possess and acquire ammunition.
• Minor’s Licence: the only licence available to individuals under 18 years of age. It allows the licence holder to use non-restricted firearms for specific activities such as hunting or target practice. The holder of a Minor’s Licence cannot acquire or possess firearms or ammunition.

All businesses and organizations that produce, sell, possess, handle, display or store firearms or ammunition are required to have a valid firearms business licence.

Valid Licences as of December 2008

Province/Territory	Possession Licence	Possession and Acquisition Licence	Minor's Licence	Total
Alberta	89,888	121,984	880	212,752
British Columbia	102,222	109,813	231	212,266
Manitoba	39,108	42,477	241	81,826
New Brunswick	53,443	24,563	117	78,123
Newfoundland and Labrador	33,740	37,377	145	71,262
Nova Scotia	52,395	25,749	1,161	79,305
Northwest Territories	1,143	4,037	32	5,212
Nunavut	123	2,641	1	2,765
Ontario	245,920	267,815	4,118	517,853
Prince Edward Island	4,519	2,489	7	7,015
Quebec	220,684	271,963	32	492,679
Saskatchewan	44,658	47,883	67	92,608
Yukon	1,683	4,096	56	5,835
Total	889,526	962,887	7,088	1,859,501

Number of Licences Issued (including renewals) in the October-December 2008 Period

Type of Licences Issued	Number
Possession and Acquisition Licence	53,702
Minor's Licence	1,176
Possession Licence	42,350
Total Issued to Individuals	97,228
Total issued to Businesses	451
Total	97,679

Licence Renewal

A firearms licence for an individual is valid for five years, at which point the individual must renew the licence.

Renewal Statistics for Licence Holders who have Registered Firearms

Quarter	Total Number of Licences Set to Expire During the Period	Renewed	Did not Renew
2005 Q 1	18,644	15,501	3,143
2005 Q 2	29,239	24,398	4,841
2005 Q 3	45,396	40,177	5,219
2005 Q 4	77,854	66,823	11,031
2006 Q 1	82,349	67,514	14,835
2006 Q 2	84,623	67,855	16,768
2006 Q 3	82,752	67,596	15,156
2006 Q 4	77,551	65,847	11,704
2007 Q 1	77,559	65,800	11,759
2007 Q 2	82,041	68,911	13,130
2007 Q 3	81,370	66,730	14,640
2007 Q 4	75,157	58,857	16,300
2008 Q 1	77,102	60,711	16,391
2008 Q 2	81,816	66,534	15,282
2008 Q 3	78,832	61,878	16,954
2008 Q 4	71,411	54,032	17,379

Safety Training

Firearms safety training is a fundamental element of the Canadian Firearms Program. To obtain a PAL or a Minor’s Licence an applicant must have satisfied the requirements of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC). It is also possible in some cases for a PAL applicant to receive alternate certification. To own or acquire restricted firearms, an individual must satisfy the requirements of the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) or have been alternatively certified, in addition to having satisfied the requirements of the CFSC. These courses help ensure that those who possess and use firearms are fully aware of their responsibility for the safe handling, transport and storage of firearms.

Year	No. of Alternate Certifications	No. of Canadian Firearms Safety Courses	No. of Canadian Firearms Safety Course Students	No. of Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Courses	No. of Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course Students
before 1999	23,009	182	1,744	20	119
1999	200	4,590	43,911	1,120	6,501
2000	5,214	9,633	81,290	2,312	12,091
2001	1,408	6,211	57,064	1,686	9,074
2002	3,044	5,236	49,720	1,743	10,060
2003	708	4,173	37,632	1,345	7,834
2004	460	3,892	36,156	1,250	8,199
2005	751	4,257	40,455	1,446	9,028
2006	1,542	4,896	46,864	1,717	10,284
2007	910	5,382	54,373	2,008	12,823
2008	442	5,077	49,510	1,979	13,196
Total	37,694	53,580	499,187	16,658	99,452

Licence Refusals and Revocations

Licensing of an individual to possess firearms requires a variety of background checks. Applicants are screened to detect potential public safety risks based on information provided with a firearms licence application. Continuous eligibility screening is conducted over the term of the licence to identify any public safety risks that may arise over time. A licence may also be revoked following a court order or a Chief Firearm Officer’s investigation resulting from a call to the CFP’s public safety line.

The Registrar of Firearms is notified of all licence revocations, is responsible for revoking all associated registration certificates, and works to ensure proper disposal of the firearms. For more information on refusals and revocations, please consult the Firearms Act.

NOTE: Reasons for licence refusals or revocations include: a history of violence, mental illness, potential risk to oneself or others, unsafe firearm use and storage, drug offences, and providing false information.

Licence Refusals by Year

Year	Refused Applications
2004	341
2005	364
2006	424
2007	466
2008	478

Licence Revocations by Year

Year	Licences Revoked
2005	2233
2006	2093
2007	1701
2008	1800

Firearms Registration

The registration of firearms links firearms and their licensed owners, thereby enhancing owners’ accountability for safe storage and use of firearms.  A centralized, on-line, secure database of firearms information helps police and other public safety officials carry out investigations efficiently and effectively enabling them to quickly trace a firearm to its last lawful owner.

Registered Firearms

Firearms Registered as of December 2008

Province/Territory	Non-restricted firearms	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total
Alberta	813,325	74,178	24,355	911,858
British Columbia	768,343	82,819	28,962	880,124
Manitoba	323,124	15,716	6,500	345,340
New Brunswick	263,843	10,873	5,540	280,256
Newfoundland and Labrador	185,707	3,499	1,618	190,824
Nova Scotia	284,800	15,007	7,585	307,392
Northwest Territories	17,753	1,023	320	19,096
Nunavut	10,074	139	38	10,251
Ontario	1,998,841	167,549	89,199	2,255,589
Prince Edward Island	21,586	1,468	799	23,853
Quebec	1,545,616	53,737	36,463	1,635,816
Saskatchewan	375,023	22,677	8,506	406,206
Yukon	20,886	1,506	411	22,803
Other	23,284	444	111	23,839
Grand Total	6,652,205	450,635	210,407	7,313,247

Firearms Registered as of Indicated Period

Period	Non-restricted firearms	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total
2004/Mar	6,255,782	358,763	197,996	6,812,541
2004/Dec	6,379,689	373,665	202,208	6,955,562
2005/Mar	6,410,740	372,782	200,937	6,984,459
2005/Dec	6,513,246	384,582	205,911	7,103,739
2006/Mar	6,450,858	388,378	208,057	7,047,293
2006/Dec	6,460,236	406,559	209,677	7,076,472
2007/Mar	6,496,609	411,172	209,419	7,117,200
2007/Jun	6,507,013	417,877	209,427	7,134,317
2007/Sep	6,513,952	420,385	208,474	7,142,811
2007/Dec	6,527,482	427,247	208,892	7,163,621
2008/Mar	6,545,001	433,226	209,912	7,188,139
2008/Jun	6,600,666	439,969	210,318	7,250,953
2008/Sep	6,627,307	440,430	207,931	7,275,668
2008/Dec	6,652,205	450,635	210,407	7,313,247

Firearm Transfers

A firearm must be legally transferred whenever it is sold, traded or given to someone else. The registration information must be updated to indicate the new owner, if he or she lives in Canada. This process is referred to as a “transfer” under the Firearms Act.

Firearm Transfers by Transfer Method

NOTE: EFAST is a legacy system that is being phased out

Quarter	Telephone	Internet	Paper	EFAST	Total
2006 Q 1	68,897	26,244	5	291	95,437
2006 Q 2	76,740	39,314	0	4	116,058
2006 Q 3	85,979	41,917	2	0	127,898
2006 Q 4	82,092	34,586	1	0	116,679
2007 Q 1	64,800	32,944	0	0	97,744
2007 Q 2	76,454	53,215	4	0	129,673
2007 Q 3	73,318	61,956	0	7	135,281
2007 Q 4	75,156	61,683	0	0	136,839
2008 Q 1	62,086	51,358	1	0	113,445
2008 Q 2	72,632	84,757	0	81	157,470
2008 Q 3	73,853	102,321	0	0	176,174
2008 Q 4	89,997	82,739	0	0	172,736

Firearm Transfers Processed within Service Standard (30 days)

Quarter	Percentage within Standard
2006 Q 1	94%
2006 Q 2	89%
2006 Q 3	94%
2006 Q 4	96%
2007 Q 1	97%
2007 Q 2	97%
2007 Q 3	97%
2007 Q 4	97%
2008 Q 1	95%
2008 Q 2	95%
2008 Q 3	98%
2008 Q 4	97%

Other CFP Performance Information

CFRO Queries

The Canadian Firearms Registry On-line (CFRO) is a subset of the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS). The system is available to Canadian police agencies via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system to assist them when responding to calls and conducting investigations. As a searchable application, police officers may query the name, address and firearms licence number of an individual, or firearm-related information such as the serial number or registration certificate number of a firearm. CFRO provides police with real-time access to the information they require in their investigational and operational activities.

Average Daily Queries to the CFRO

Type	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Individual Name	1,561	1,820	2,397	4,001	4,262	6440
Address	27	42	1,434	2,268	2,364	2574
Serial#	128	130	143	187	176	202
Licence#	47	57	74	89	121	141
Certificate#	20	13	14	15	16	19
Telephone#	7	9	12	11	14	15
Other	21	16	17	21	21	22
Total	1,811	2,087	4,090	6,591	6,973	9,413

The total may not match the sum of the components due to rounding

Total CFRO Queries by Quarter

Quarter	All Queries Types
2003 Q 2	95,303
2003 Q 3	172,717
2003 Q 4	156,797
2004 Q 1	170,620
2004 Q 2	192,210
2004 Q 3	196,413
2004 Q 4	203,286
2005 Q 1	213,010
2005 Q 2	342,721
2005 Q 3	454,394
2005 Q 4	481,618
2006 Q 1	585,410
2006 Q 2	648,524
2006 Q 3	650,361
2006 Q 4	513,277
2007 Q 1	504,430
2007 Q 2	573,137
2007 Q 3	703,516
2007 Q 4	760,097
2008 Q 1	785,949
2008 Q 2	890,604
2008 Q 3	904,427
2008 Q 4	822,469

NOTE:  The 2008 Q 3 numbers have increased since last published as data capture for Q 3’s report had taken place before the end of the quarter.

Telephone Enquiries

The Canadian Firearms Program operates a call centre located within its central processing site. This centre answers calls from the general public and licence holders relating to firearms licensing and registration.

Telephone Calls Received at the CFP's Call Centre.

Year	Average Wait Time (seconds)	Total Number of Calls Received	Number of Calls Answered within 3 Minutes
2004	116	501,582	379,321
2005	113	839,658	629,737
2006	159	1,146,880	749,612
2007	324	1,034,298	352,320
2008	124	964,492	684,291

NOTE: The above normal average wait time in 2007 was due to temporary human resource issues, relating to transition of the Program into the RCMP, and 2008 data shows this has returned to normal.