Facts and Figures (July - September 2011)

Canadian Firearms Program

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• Firearms licensing
• Firearms registration
• Other CFP Performance Information

Firearms Licensing

Firearms Licences

There are currently three 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.

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 September 2011

Province/Territory	Possession Licence	Possession and Acquisition Licence	Minor Licence	Total
Alberta	62,864	160,672	1,351	224,887
British Columbia	77,056	147,979	416	225,451
Manitoba	27,476	52,935	300	80,711
New Brunswick	41,359	31,911	120	73,390
Newfoundland and Labrador	28,181	45,028	154	73,363
Northwest Territories	540	4,580	48	5,168
Nova Scotia	41,519	32,810	1,121	75,450
Nunavut	51	2,936	8	2,995
Ontario	195,689	324,631	3,531	523,851
Prince Edward Island	3,396	3,050	19	6,465
Quebec	173,042	323,450	21	496,513
Saskatchewan	31,267	60,158	82	91,507
Yukon	1,095	5,168	43	6,306
Total	683,535	1,195,308	7,214	1,886,057

Licences per 100,000 population

Province/Territory	Licences per 100,000 Population*
Alberta	6,849
British Columbia	5,479
Manitoba	7,037
New Brunswick	10,063
Newfoundland and Labrador	14,514
Northwest Territories	12,464
Nova Scotia	8,260
Nunavut	10,161
Ontario	4,308
Prince Edward Island	4,759
Quebec	6,572
Saskatchewan	9,457
Yukon	20,763
Total	5,966

* Licences per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2006 Census

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Number of Licences Issued (including renewals) in the July - September 2011 Period

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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	Renewal Rate for Firearm Owners
2008 Q 4	71,411	54,032	17,379	75.7%
2009 Q 1	73,261	54,713	18,548	74.7%
2009 Q 2	77,852	58,982	18,870	75.8%
2009 Q 3	76,206	60,138	16,068	78.9%
2009 Q 4	62,618	48,839	13,779	78.0%
2010 Q 1	65,507	50,816	14,691	77.6%
2010 Q 2	66,135	51,395	14,740	77.7%
2010 Q 3	65,391	52,951	12,440	81.0%
2010 Q 4	60,037	53,030	7,007	88.3%
2011 Q 1	51,320	46,613	4,707	90.8%
2011 Q 2	54,391	48,696	5,695	89.5%
2011 Q3	58,316	51,709	6,607	88.7%

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 alternative 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 CFSCs	No. of CFSC Students	No. of CRFSC	No. of CRFSC Students
before 1999	24,106	182	1,744	20	119
1999	210	4,590	43,911	1,120	6,501
2000	5,280	9,633	81,290	2,313	12,101
2001	1,423	6,212	57,090	1,685	9,048
2002	3,045	5,239	49,731	1,743	10,060
2003	709	4,176	37,650	1,347	7,844
2004	468	3,899	36,277	1,251	8,201
2005	756	4,276	40,759	1,446	9,028
2006	1,552	4,969	47,540	1,747	10,400
2007	911	5,556	55,694	2,119	13,304
2008	448	6,684	65,952	2,553	17,072
2009	231	6,962	67,719	2,870	19,928
2010	173	6,605	67,739	2,724	20,365
Total	39, 313	68, 983	653, 096	22, 956	143, 971

NOTE: These totals do not include the number of individuals who have taken the above courses in Quebec.

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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 (1-800-731-4000).

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
2006	391
2007	438
2008	461
2009	513
2010	570
2011*	395

* Up to September 30, 2011

Licence Revocations by Year

Year	Licences Revoked
2006	2,065
2007	1,748
2008	1,834
2009	2,075
2010	2,229
2011*	1,762

* Up to September 30, 2011

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.

Firearms Registered as of September 2011

Province/Territory	Non-restricted firearms	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total
Alberta	931,524	96,444	24,564	1,052,532
British Columbia	844,611	99,482	28,432	972,525
Manitoba	352,222	19,480	6,044	377,746
New Brunswick	276,035	12,125	5,234	293,394
Newfoundland and Labrador	206,685	4,213	1,583	212,481
Northwest Territories	18,903	1,104	326	20,333
Nova Scotia	288,927	16,503	7,264	312,694
Nunavut	12,584	159	42	12,785
Ontario	2,113,607	189,535	84,011	2,387,153
Prince Edward Island	21,946	1,731	816	24,493
Quebec	1,630,704	58,458	33,172	1,722,334
Saskatchewan	415,346	27,271	8,399	451,016
Yukon	24,292	1,818	398	26,508
Total	7,137,386	528,323	200,285	7,865,994

Firearms per 100,000 Population*

Province/Territory	Firearms per 100,000 Population*
Alberta	32,054
British Columbia	23,635
Manitoba	32,933
New Brunswick	40,229
Newfoundland and Labrador	42,036
Northwest Territories	49,038
Nova Scotia	34,232
Nunavut	43,377
Ontario	19,631
Prince Edward Island	18,029
Quebec	22,799
Saskatchewan	46,609
Yukon	87,278
Total	24,882

*Firearms per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2006 Census

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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
2008 Q 4	89,997	82,739	0	0	172,736
2009 Q 1	77,943	67,041	0	0	144,984
2009 Q 2	78,766	87,345	0	0	166,111
2009 Q 3	80,124	91,126	0	0	171,250
2009 Q 4	91,155	84,112	2	8	175,277
2010 Q 1	70,017	74,602	2	0	144,621
2010 Q 2	76,672	108,379	0	0	185,051
2010 Q 3	86,845	117,713	1	6	204,565
2010 Q 4	86,448	107,692	0	0	194,140
2011 Q 1	81,237	90,692	0	0	171,929
2011 Q 2	76,867	124,192	0	10	201,069
2011 Q3	76,002	142,516	0	0	218,518

Firearm Transfers Processed within Service Standard (30 days)

Quarter	Percentage within Standard
2008 Q 4	96.7%
2009 Q 1	96.5%
2009 Q 2	97.4%
2009 Q 3	97.7%
2009 Q 4	96.7%
2010 Q 1	97.3%
2010 Q 2	97.8%
2010 Q 3	97.3%
2010 Q 4	96.2%
2011 Q 1	97.0%
2011 Q 2	96.5%
2011 Q 3	98.2%

NOTE: this figure refers to the mailing of a hard copy Registration certificate to the transferee. The transfer transaction is typically updated in CFIS within a few hours, and the transferee can legally take possession of the firearms at that point.

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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 investigative and operational activities.

Average Daily Queries to the CFRO

Type	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011*
Individual Name	1,820	2,397	4,001	4,262	6,435	7,653	10,527	12,798
Address	42	1,434	2,268	2,364	2,574	2,842	3,175	3,974
Serial#	130	143	187	176	202	316	307	363
Licence#	57	74	89	121	140	185	208	221
Certificate#	13	14	15	16	19	19	16	13
Telephone#	9	12	11	14	15	20	40	34
Other	16	17	21	21	22	50	85	83
Total	2,071	4,074	6,570	6,952	9,385	11,035	14,273	17,402

* Up to September 30, 2011

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

Total CFRO Queries by Quarter

Quarter	All Query Types
2008 Q 4	859,179
2009 Q 1	884,635
2009 Q 2	981,375
2009 Q 3	1,088,296
2009 Q 4	1,088,510
2010 Q 1	1,203,522
2010 Q 2	1,335,487
2010 Q 3	1,365,119
2010 Q 4	1,335,907
2011 Q 1	1,385,084
2011 Q 2	1,653,371
2011 Q 3	1,629,551

NOTE: The numbers from previous quarters have increased between this report and last, due to new data becoming available.

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Total CFRO Queries by Province (July - September 2011)

Province/Territory	Query Count for 2011 Q3	Queries per 100,000 Population*
Alberta	175,917	5,357
British Columbia	256,051	6,223
Manitoba	30,682	2,675
New Brunswick	59,450	8,151
Newfoundland and Labrador	28,333	5,605
Nova Scotia	21,692	2,375
Northwest Territories	2,516	6,068
Nunavut	1,289	4,373
Ontario	969,447	7,973
Prince Edward Island	2,986	2,198
Quebec	58,791	778
Saskatchewan	19,953	2,062
Yukon	2,444	8,047
Total	1,629,551	5,155

*Queries per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2006 Census

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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
2005	113	839,674	629,746
2006	159	1,132,071	740,548
2007	327	1,065,592	358,673
2008	125	975,945	690,585
2009	115	878,608	634,417
2010	49	544,093	481,273
2011*	61	552,914	467,392

*Up to September 30, 2011