The Firearms Amnesty Has Been Extended Until the Supreme Court Rules: What Owners Need to Know
If you own a firearm that was prohibited in May 2020, December 2024 or March 2025, the date you were working toward has changed. The amnesty that was set to end on October 30, 2026 now runs until 90 days after the Supreme Court of Canada decides the challenge to the prohibition. That gives owners more time. It does not change what the amnesty allows, and it does not make the firearms legal again.
This article explains what the extension actually did, what the amnesty protects and what it does not, and what your options look like depending on whether you declared your firearms in the federal compensation program before the March 31, 2026 deadline.
What Changed on June 9, 2026
On June 9, 2026, Public Safety Canada announced that the amnesty period had been extended because of the Supreme Court of Canada process. The change was made by the Order Amending Certain Orders Declaring an Amnesty Period (SOR/2026-114), registered on June 5, 2026 and published in the Canada Gazette on June 17, 2026.
The order amended all three amnesty orders:
- the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) (SOR/2020-97), covering firearms prohibited on May 1, 2020;
- the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2024) (SOR/2024-249), covering firearms prohibited on December 5, 2024; and
- the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2025) (SOR/2025-87), covering firearms prohibited on March 7, 2025.
Each now says the amnesty period ends on the 90th day after the day on which the appeals bearing Supreme Court of Canada case numbers 41858, 41859, 41860 or 41861 are terminated, whether by judgment, dismissal or discontinuance. If the four appeals end on different days, the 90 days run from the latest of them.
The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal in those four cases on March 19, 2026. According to the Court’s online docket, the appeals are scheduled to be heard together beginning November 9, 2026. The Supreme Court usually takes several months after a hearing to release its reasons, and the government has said it expects the decision next year. No one can say exactly when the 90-day clock will start. For a plain-language look at the case itself, see our article on what the Supreme Court is deciding.
What the Extension Did Not Change
The government’s announcement and the regulatory statement that accompanied SOR/2026-114 were clear on several points:
- The prohibition remains in force. The firearms covered by the 2020, 2024 and 2025 regulations are prohibited firearms today, and they will stay prohibited unless a court or the government changes that.
- Nothing was reclassified. A firearm that was non-restricted or restricted before May 1, 2020 did not go back to that class.
- The scope of the amnesty was not widened, apart from a new option allowing individuals who have an agreement with the Government of Canada to ship their firearms by licensed carrier for destruction.
In short, the extension adds time. It does not add uses.
What the Amnesty Actually Protects
An amnesty under section 117.14 of the Criminal Code is a period during which certain people who possess certain things are protected from criminal liability, as long as they stay within the purposes set out in the order. Outside those purposes, the protection does not apply.
The summary below is based on the 2020 Amnesty Order. The 2024 and 2025 orders follow the same structure for the firearms they cover.
Who is covered
In general terms, the 2020 order covers an individual who, on May 1, 2020, owned or possessed a firearm covered by the prohibition and held a valid firearms licence, and who continues to hold that licence while in possession of the firearm. If the firearm was restricted on April 30, 2020, the owner also needed a registration certificate for it.
That licence requirement matters. If your PAL or RPAL expires, is revoked, or is suspended, you may fall outside the amnesty. If your licence is coming up for renewal, deal with it early. Our firearms compliance page covers licensing and renewal issues.
What you may do
The order lists the purposes of the amnesty. For an individual owner, those include:
- deactivating the firearm so that it is no longer a firearm;
- delivering it to a police officer for destruction or other disposal;
- if you have an agreement with the Government of Canada, delivering it to a person or carrier under that agreement for destruction;
- delivering it to a licensed carrier to be shipped for deactivation;
- exporting it in accordance with all legal requirements, including those of the destination country;
- transporting it by vehicle for any of those purposes, by a reasonably direct route, unloaded with no ammunition in the vehicle, in the trunk (or out of sight if there is no trunk), and with the vehicle never left unattended;
- transporting it in the same manner to store it, or to have it stored by a licensed person who stores it as a condition of your licence, after first notifying the chief firearms officer of the transport; and
- possessing it while you decide which of those steps to take, as long as it is stored in accordance with the storage rules that applied to its classification on April 30, 2020.
There is one narrow use permitted under the 2020 order: an owner whose firearm was non-restricted on April 30, 2020 may use it to hunt in the exercise of an Aboriginal or treaty right recognized by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, or to sustain themselves or their family, until they are able to obtain another firearm for that use.
What you may not do
Anything not on that list falls outside the amnesty. In practical terms, that means the amnesty does not cover:
- target shooting or range use, including at a club you have belonged to for years;
- sport hunting, apart from the sustenance and section 35 use described above;
- selling, trading, lending or giving the firearm to another person in Canada;
- transporting it for any purpose other than those listed, or in a way that does not meet the conditions; or
- storing it in a way that does not meet the storage rules for its former classification.
Our firearms compliance page explains the underlying storage regulations.
If You Declared Before March 31, 2026
The individual declaration period of the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program opened on January 19, 2026 and closed on March 31, 2026. Public Safety Canada reported at the close of the window that more than 67,000 firearms had been declared by 37,869 owners, and in its June 2026 update put the figure at over 68,000 firearms.
If you declared, the government has said you will be compensated once your claim is validated and you follow the instructions you receive, whether that is turning the firearm in at an appointment with the RCMP, a local police service or a mobile collection unit, or completing a permanent deactivation option. Public Safety has said collection and compensation were scheduled to continue through early fall 2026.
A few practical points for declarants:
- Keep the paperwork. Retain your declaration confirmation, claim number and all correspondence.
- Stay licensed. Your amnesty protection still depends on holding a valid licence while you possess the firearm.
- Follow the appointment instructions closely, including the transport conditions. A declaration is not a transport authorization for any other purpose.
Whether a declarant can or should wait until the Supreme Court rules before completing the turn-in is a question to raise directly with the program and with your own lawyer. Program deadlines and amnesty deadlines are not the same thing, and missing a program step could affect compensation even while the amnesty remains open.
If You Did Not Declare
If you did not submit a declaration by March 31, 2026, Public Safety Canada has stated that you are no longer eligible for compensation through the federal program. You are still covered by the amnesty, provided you meet its conditions, until it ends.
Before the amnesty ends, the government’s position is that owners who did not participate must do one of the following:
- deactivate the firearm at their own expense;
- turn it in to police without compensation; or
- export it lawfully.
The government has warned that owners who keep a prohibited firearm after the amnesty ends face possible licence revocation and criminal liability. Depending on the facts, possession of a prohibited firearm without the necessary authorization can engage offences such as unauthorized possession under section 91 and knowing unauthorized possession under section 92 of the Criminal Code, as well as licensing consequences under the Firearms Act. Our criminal firearms defence page explains how those charges work.
What Happens 90 Days After the Decision
Because the amnesty is now tied to the end of the appeals, it is worth thinking through both outcomes.
If the appeals are dismissed
If the Supreme Court upholds the regulations, the prohibition stands. The amnesty would end 90 days after the judgment (or the latest judgment, if the four appeals are decided separately). After that date, owners who still possess covered firearms would no longer have amnesty protection. That 90-day window would be the final period to deactivate, surrender or export.
If the appeals are allowed in whole or in part
If the Court finds that the regulations, or parts of them, are invalid, the effect would depend on exactly what the Court decides and what remedy it grants. A court can strike down regulations entirely, strike down particular provisions, or suspend a declaration of invalidity for a period. The government could also respond with new legislation or regulations. The amnesty order’s wording would still produce an end date 90 days after the appeals are terminated, but what an owner needs to do at that point would depend entirely on the ruling. It would be a mistake to assume, before the reasons are released, that any particular firearm will become lawful again.
Either way
The 90-day period will be short relative to the six years that preceded it. If you still hold covered firearms, it is sensible to have your plan and your paperwork in order before the decision, rather than starting after it.
What This Means for You
- The amnesty now ends 90 days after the Supreme Court decision, not on October 30, 2026.
- The prohibition is still in force. The extension added time, not new permitted uses.
- The amnesty protects possession, storage and transport only for the purposes listed in the order. Range use, sport hunting and private sales are not among them.
- You must keep a valid licence to stay within the amnesty.
- Compensation is closed to anyone who did not declare by March 31, 2026, but the amnesty still applies to them until it ends.
How Mor Fisher Can Help
Our firearms work is handled by Jaime Mor and Peter Kott. Peter holds an RPAL himself and understands the practical side of storage, transport and licensing from the owner’s perspective. We advise owners on whether a planned step falls within the amnesty, help executors and families deal with prohibited firearms in an estate, and respond when police or a chief firearms officer become involved. Our prohibited firearms amnesty and buyback page describes that work in more detail.
If you hold a prohibited firearm and are unsure what the amnesty allows, speak with us before you move it. Contact Mor Fisher LLP at 705-721-6642 or through our contact page. A short conversation now about storage, transport or a planned disposal is much simpler than dealing with a seizure or a charge later.