Facts and Figures (October – December, 2009)

Canadian Firearms Program

Quick Links

• 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 December 2009

Province/Territory	Possession Licence	Possession and Acquisition Licence	Minor Licence	Total
Alberta	76,247	137,246	1,184	214,677
British Columbia	88,892	124,936	299	214,127
Manitoba	32,608	46,812	251	79,671
New Brunswick	47,276	27,487	111	74,874
Newfoundland and Labrador	30,424	40,663	140	71,227
Northwest Territories	872	4,167	33	5,072
Nova Scotia	46,827	28,845	1,241	76,913
Nunavut	95	2,794	14	2,903
Ontario	219,042	291,317	4,087	514,446
Prince Edward Island	3,963	2,731	15	6,709
Quebec	192,011	294,852	23	486,886
Saskatchewan	37,806	52,506	80	90,392
Yukon	1,415	4,546	55	6,016
Total	777,478	1,058,902	7,533	1,843,913

Number of licences issued (including renewals) in the October – December 2009 Period

Type of Licences Issued	Number
Possession and Acquisition Licence	48,347
Minor's Licence	1,300
Possession Licence	36,091
Total Issued to Individuals	85,738
Total issued to Businesses	87
Total	85,825

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
2005 Q 1	18,644	15,501	3,143	83.10%
2005 Q 2	29,239	24,398	4,841	83.40%
2005 Q 3	45,396	40,177	5,219	88.50%
2005 Q 4	77,854	66,823	11,031	85.80%
2006 Q 1	82,349	67,514	14,835	82.00%
2006 Q 2	84,623	67,855	16,768	80.20%
2006 Q 3	82,752	67,596	15,156	81.70%
2006 Q 4	77,551	65,847	11,704	84.90%
2007 Q 1	77,559	65,800	11,759	84.80%
2007 Q 2	82,041	68,911	13,130	84.00%
2007 Q 3	81,370	66,730	14,640	82.00%
2007 Q 4	75,157	58,857	16,300	78.30%
2008 Q 1	77,102	60,711	16,391	78.70%
2008 Q 2	81,816	66,534	15,282	81.30%
2008 Q 3	78,832	61,878	16,954	78.50%
2008 Q 4	71,411	54,032	17,379	75.70%
2009 Q 1	73,261	54,713	18,548	74.70%
2009 Q 2	77,852	58,982	18,870	75.80%
2009 Q 3	76,206	59,865	16,341	78.60%
2009 Q 4	62,619	47,141	15,478	75.30%

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	23,113	182	1,744	20	119
1999	202	4,590	43,911	1,120	6,501
2000	5,218	9,633	81,290	2,312	12,091
2001	1,413	6,211	57,064	1,686	9,074
2002	3,044	5,239	49,731	1,743	10,060
2003	708	4,175	37,642	1,346	7,840
2004	463	3,895	36,182	1,251	8,201
2005	753	4,260	40,514	1,446	9,028
2006	1,544	4,967	47,524	1,747	10,400
2007	910	5,536	55,390	2,117	13,284
2008	447	6,632	65,187	2,540	16,977
2009	231	6,303	61,643	2,561	17,957
Total	38,046	56,160	577,822	19,889	121,532

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
2004	341
2005	364
2006	424
2007	466
2008	478
2009	412

Licence Revocations by Year

Year	Licences Revoked
2005	2,233
2006	2,093
2007	1,701
2008	1,800
2009	2,085

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 September 2009

Province/Territory	Non-restricted firearms	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total
Alberta	852,298	80,467	24,437	957,202
British Columbia	790,037	87,289	28,499	905,825
Manitoba	327,398	16,550	6,387	350,335
New Brunswick	265,268	11,131	5,458	281,857
Newfoundland and Labrador	190,971	3,620	1,602	196,193
Nova Scotia	284,388	15,342	7,549	307,279
Northwest Territories	18,229	1,049	324	19,602
Nunavut	10,910	145	38	11,093
Ontario	2,026,913	173,342	87,297	2,287,552
Prince Edward Island	21,575	1,561	794	23,930
Quebec	1,561,791	55,268	34,720	1,651,779
Saskatchewan	385,612	23,812	8,474	417,898
Yukon	22,250	1,605	397	24,252
Other	24,058	537	112	24,707
Grand Total	6,781,698	471,718	206,088	7,459,504

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
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

Firearm Transfers Processed within Service Standard (30 days)

Quarter	Percentage within Standard
2006 Q 1	93.9%
2006 Q 2	88.9%
2006 Q 3	93.5%
2006 Q 4	95.9%
2007 Q 1	96.5%
2007 Q 2	96.7%
2007 Q 3	97.2%
2007 Q 4	96.7%
2008 Q 1	94.8%
2008 Q 2	95.2%
2008 Q 3	97.5%
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%

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.

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	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Individual Name	1,561	1,820	2,397	4,001	4,262	6,435	7,650
Address	27	42	1,434	2,268	2,364	2,574	2,843
Serial#	128	130	143	187	176	203	318
Licence#	47	57	74	89	121	140	185
Certificate#	20	13	14	15	16	19	19
Telephone#	7	9	12	11	14	15	20
Other	21	16	17	21	21	22	50
Total	1,811	2,087	4,090	6,591	6,973	9,408	11,085

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

Total CFRO Queries by Quarter

Quarter	All Query 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
2009 Q 1	854,703
2009 Q 2	949,459
2009 Q 3	1,041,905
2009 Q 4	1,032,807

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

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	501,603	379,331
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