Prohibited Firearms, the Amnesty & the Buyback

Where Things Stand

This page reflects the law and program status as of September 25, 2026. This area is changing. It will be updated when the Supreme Court of Canada decides the pending appeals, but check the date before relying on it.

Since May 1, 2020, the federal government has prohibited more than 2,500 makes and models of firearms by regulation. Thousands of licensed Ontario owners who bought these firearms legally, including hunters, sport shooters, and collectors, now own property they cannot use, sell, or transfer. They are protected from criminal liability only by a temporary amnesty.

This page explains the law and your options. It does not take a position on the policy. Our role is to help owners understand where they stand and stay on the right side of the law while the courts decide the challenge.

The Prohibitions, the Amnesty, and the Appeal

The Prohibitions

• May 1, 2020 (SOR/2020-96). Amendments to the Classification Regulations (SOR/98-462) prohibited more than 1,500 makes and models in nine families of firearms, along with their variants and the upper receivers of certain AR- and M16-pattern firearms. The same amendments prohibited firearms with a bore of 20 mm or greater and firearms capable of firing a projectile with muzzle energy over 10,000 joules.
• December 5, 2024. Further makes and models and their variants were added. The RCMP described this as 324 makes and models.
• March 7, 2025. A third round of additions.

Each prohibition came with its own Amnesty Order: the 2020, 2024, and 2025 Orders. Which one applies to you depends on when your firearm was prohibited.

What the Amnesty Protects

The amnesty is declared under s. 117.14 of the Criminal Code. It shields eligible owners from prosecution for possession while they take steps to comply. Under the 2020 Order, protection generally requires that you:

• Owned or possessed the firearm on the date it was prohibited
• Held a valid firearms licence on that date
• Continue to hold that licence throughout the amnesty
• For firearms that were previously restricted, held a registration certificate for them

The continuing licence requirement is a trap. If your PAL or RPAL expires beyond its extension period or is revoked, you can lose the amnesty’s protection. See licence revocations and refusals.

During the amnesty, you may:

• Store the firearm according to its classification before the prohibition
• Transport it only for a permitted purpose (deactivation, delivery to police, export, or delivery for destruction under a government agreement), by a reasonably direct route, unloaded, with no ammunition in the vehicle, in the trunk or out of sight, and never left unattended
• Use a formerly non-restricted firearm only to hunt in the exercise of Aboriginal or treaty rights protected by s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, or to sustain yourself or your family, until a replacement can be obtained

You may not otherwise use, sell, transfer, lend, or import the firearm. Taking it to the range is not permitted.

How Long the Amnesty Lasts

On June 5, 2026, the Governor in Council amended all three Amnesty Orders (SOR/2026-114). The amnesty had been set to end on October 30, 2026. It now ends on the 90th day after the Supreme Court of Canada finally disposes of appeals 41858, 41859, 41860, and 41861, whether by judgment, dismissal, or discontinuance. If they end on different days, the clock runs from the last of them. The same amendment added a new option: owners with a compensation agreement may ship firearms for destruction through a licensed carrier.

The Supreme Court Appeal

The appeal is Generoux v. Attorney General of Canada (SCC 41858), heard together with Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights et al. (41859), Doherty et al. (41860), and Eichenberg et al. (41861). The appellants are licensed owners, hunters, sport shooters, clubs, businesses, and the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights. They challenge the May 2020 regulation (SOR/2020-96). The Federal Court dismissed their judicial review applications on October 30, 2023, and the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals on April 15, 2025 (2025 FCA 82). The Supreme Court granted leave on March 19, 2026. The court docket lists the hearing for November 9, 2026.

According to the Court’s case summary, the issues are:

• Whether the regulation exceeds the Governor in Council’s power to prohibit firearms under s. 117.15 of the Criminal Code, read with the limit in s. 117.15(2)
• Whether the phrase “any variants or modified versions” infringes s. 7 of the Charter
• Whether the prohibition and forced collection of previously non-restricted long guns violates s. 8
• Whether firearm owners face discrimination under s. 15(1)

The appeal directly concerns the 2020 regulation. How a decision would affect the 2024 and 2025 additions will depend on what the Court decides and how the government responds. The amnesty for all three rounds is tied to the same appeals.

The Compensation Program

The Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) ran in stages:

• Businesses, first phase: November 2024 to April 2025. Public Safety Canada reports more than 12,000 firearms collected and destroyed with compensation paid.
• Businesses, second phase: Reopened in 2026 to include all prohibited models and closed June 4, 2026.
• Individuals: Declarations were accepted from January 19 to March 31, 2026. Public Safety Canada reported more than 67,000 firearms declared by 37,869 owners when the window closed, and a later update put the total above 68,000. Late declarations are being completed only for owners who opened a case before the deadline (for example, because of a technical issue) and for Canadian Armed Forces members and police deployed abroad.

For declared firearms, the government said collection, deactivation, and compensation would run from spring to early fall 2026, through the RCMP, local police, or mobile collection units. Timelines have shifted during the litigation, so check the program’s current instructions for your area.

Options for Owners

If You Declared

Follow the instructions from the program and keep every piece of correspondence. Until your firearm is collected, the amnesty conditions still apply, including keeping your licence valid. If you are thinking about withdrawing from the program to wait for the Supreme Court, get advice on the consequences first.

If You Did Not Declare

Compensation is no longer available. Before the amnesty ends, the lawful options are:

• Deactivation by an approved business, at your own cost, so that the item is no longer a firearm
• Surrender to police for destruction, without compensation
• Export in compliance with Canadian export permit requirements and the laws of the destination country

Some owners have decided to hold their firearms under the amnesty’s conditions until the Supreme Court rules. That is lawful for now, but only if you meet every condition, particularly the continuing licence requirement. You must also be ready to act within 90 days of the decision.

Grandfathered “12(6)” Handguns

Separate from the assault-style prohibitions, s. 12(6) of the Firearms Act grandfathers individuals who continuously held registration certificates since December 1, 1998 for certain handguns that were prohibited earlier. These are handguns with a barrel of 105 mm or less, or those chambered for .25 or .32 calibre (s. 12(6.1)). These owners may keep and use their handguns, and a range ATT is issued on renewal (s. 19(2.1)).

However, since the handgun freeze was written into the Act in December 2023, a registration certificate for a handgun may not be issued to an individual (s. 12.2), except for the narrow group covered by s. 97.1. In practice, 12(6) handguns can generally no longer pass to another individual by sale, gift, or inheritance. That includes the next-of-kin route for pre-1946 handguns in s. 12(7). This makes estate planning important. See our compliance page on registration and transfers.

When the Amnesty Ends

Ninety days after the Supreme Court’s decision, the result will be one of these:

• If the prohibition is upheld in whole or in part, possessing an affected firearm without lawful authority can be charged under ss. 91 and 92 of the Criminal Code. Possessing one with readily accessible ammunition can be charged under s. 95. A conviction under Part III of the Criminal Code is also a factor the CFO must consider under s. 5(2) of the Firearms Act, and can lead to revocation of your licence for all your other firearms.
• If the regulation is struck down in whole or in part, the legal status of the affected firearms will depend on the Court’s remedy and on any government response, including new legislation or regulations.

We will update this page when the Court rules.

Our Approach

1. Confirm Classification and Coverage

We confirm whether your firearm is prohibited, which Amnesty Order covers it, and whether you meet each condition of that Order.

2. Protect the Amnesty

We make sure your licence, registration, storage, and any transport stay within the Order’s terms. If your licence comes under review while you hold amnesty firearms, we treat it as urgent.

3. Plan the Exit

We advise on deactivation, export, surrender, or program participation, and on estate planning for collections that include prohibited firearms or 12(6) handguns.

4. Defend Charges

If you are charged with possessing a prohibited firearm, we look closely at the classification evidence, your amnesty eligibility, and how the firearm was found. Classification is not always obvious. Whether a firearm is a “variant” of a listed model is often a real, contested issue. See our firearms offences defence page.

Collateral Consequences

• Licence. A possession conviction is grounds for revoking your licence and exposes every other firearm you own.
• Prohibition orders. Convictions for some firearms offences carry mandatory prohibition orders.
• Estate exposure. Executors who find prohibited firearms in an estate need prompt advice.
• Financial loss. Firearms that were not declared can no longer be compensated.

Related Resources

• Firearms Licensing Overview: the hub page for firearms licensing
• Firearms Compliance: Storage, Transport & Registration: storage, ATTs, and the handgun freeze
• Firearms Licence Revocations & Refusals: why keeping your licence valid matters to the amnesty
• Amnesty Extended Until the SCC Rules: what the June 2026 extension means
• What the Supreme Court Is Deciding: the appeal in plain language
• Assault-Style Firearms Ban Timeline: key dates from 2020 to today

If you own a prohibited firearm, are administering an estate that includes one, or have been charged, contact Mor Fisher LLP at 705-721-6642 or through our contact page. We will explain where you stand under the amnesty and what your options are before the deadline arrives.