Public Safety Minister Defers More Gun Regulations Until 2025

Hunting rifles and shotguns at a gun store in Toronto, in a file photo. Kevin Frayer/The Canadian Press

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced there would be no further gun regulations until after the next election.

The public safety department issued a legal notice that will push back the enforcement of the firearms marking regulations until after Dec. 1, 2025, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The regulations had been expected to take effect at the beginning of December. They require firearms manufactured and sold in Canada to have standard serial numbers.

“Currently there is no legislative or regulatory requirement to mark firearms in Canada although most manufacturers imprint a serial number and other information identifying the make, model, manufacturer and country of manufacture as a common business practice,” the legal notice said. “The marking of firearms is a critical element in the process of tracing crime guns and combating illicit activity including the trafficking of firearms.”

The regulations were initially expected to be in place in 2006, but have been deferred nine times since then, according to the notice.

“The proposed deferral of two years is based in part on industry recommendation and the department’s assessment regarding time required to engage on the requirements and for industry to prepare,” the department said.

Public Affairs said that the deferral will give the industry time to manage existing supply, ensure regulatory compliance, and engage on the requirements of the regulations.

The announcement comes about a week after the Senate voted to pass Bill C-21, which puts restrictions on handguns, increases penalties for firearm traffickers, and creates new “red flag” provisions that allow people to report on gun owners if they believe there is a risk to them or others.

Deferral for Buyback Program

Mr. LeBlanc also previously postponed a federal buyback program for prohibited firearms.

The mandatory buyback program focuses on “assault-style” firearms that have been put on a blacklist by cabinet. It was expected to take effect after Oct. 30; however, the minister extended the amnesty for two years, until Oct. 30, 2025.

“We specifically extended the gun amnesty so as not to criminalize people,” Mr. LeBlanc told the Senate national security committee Oct. 23.

“We have been explicit and careful to ensure that these measures do not target those people and in fact allow them to practice their sport and other recreational activities that hunters in my community of rural New Brunswick participate in,” said Mr. LeBlanc.

The buyback program has been pegged to cost the federal government $756 million, of which $8.9 million has been spent to date.

“It’s a commitment we made during the last election and we fully intend to set up such a program,” said Mr. LeBlanc. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

The majority of firearms owners in Canada have said they will not voluntarily commit to the program, according to a report from public safety. 

“Less than half of those owners with prohibited firearms would now willingly participate in a buyback program—a sharp decline over the past year. Another third would participate, but only because it was mandatory; one in ten would refuse to participate at all,” said the May 2023 report, “Buyback Program Awareness Campaign,” which was first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.