Supreme Court reserves decision on whether federal firearms ban should stand

The question of whether the federal government had the authority to ban hundreds of makes and models of firearms is now in the hands of the country's top court after it heard arguments from gun advocates and government lawyers.

Decision from Canada's top court not expected for a few months

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 10, 2026 2:13 PM EST | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

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The question of whether the federal government had the authority to ban hundreds of makes and models of firearms is now in the hands of the country's top court. 

Over the past two days the justices of the Supreme Court of Canada have heard arguments from gun advocates and other interested parties challenging the Justin Trudeau-era policy outlawing hundreds of makes and models, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14. 

In 2020, the government leaned on its regulatory powers to ban the use, sale and importation of some 1,500 firearms following the Nova Scotia mass killing, the worst in modern Canadian history. The banned list has since grown to 2,500 varieties with Ottawa arguing "their inherent deadliness makes them unsuitable for civilian use and a serious threat to public safety given the degree to which they can increase the severity of mass shootings." 

The 2020 regulations were challenged by licensed firearm owners, hunters, sport shooters and the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights — the country's gun lobby. 

Previous rulings in government's favour

Their case centres on whether the government had the authority to ban guns via an order issued by Governor in Council — effectively the federal cabinet. Under the Criminal Code, the cabinet can't use regulations to outlaw a firearm if it considers that gun "reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes." 

The government's lawyers have argued that Parliament has long empowered cabinet with broad discretionary authority to prohibit firearms in the interest of public safety and that there are other non-prohibited firearms available for hunting and sport shooting.  

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The Federal Court previously ruled in Ottawa's favour, dismissing a request from opponents to strike down the ban for being beyond the scope of the powers of cabinet 

Last year, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected an appeal of that decision.

Court of Appeal Chief Justice Yves de Montigny wrote that "surely, the inherent danger that some firearms pose to public safety" and "the increasing demand for measures to address gun violence" are valid considerations in determining whether their use is reasonable for hunting and sporting purposes.

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The federal government says it bought back 67,000 banned assault-style weapons by the declaration deadline, which is about half of what the government had expected.

The appellants argued at the Supreme Court that the two lower courts didn't consider whether the prohibited items were actually used for hunting or sport shooting

"Hunters, sport shooters, collectors and small businesses, individuals who complied with every requirement imposed by Parliament, found themselves overnight in possession of prohibited property, deprived of its lawful use and exposed to the prospect of criminal liability," their submission to the Supreme Court says.

"They are not extremists; they are farmers, veterans, competitive athletes, Indigenous harvesters and neighbours in communities across Canada."

The Supreme Court of Canada has now taken the case under advisement and will issue a decision at a later time — likely not for a few months.

Amnesty period extended 

Before the Supreme Court agreed earlier this year to hear the case, the government said the prohibited firearms would have to be disposed of or deactivated by Oct. 30 of this year or owners would face criminal charges. 

It then extended the amnesty period until 90 days after the Supreme Court delivers its decision. 

Over the past few months, gun owners who declared a prohibited firearm were asked to surrender them if they wanted to be compensated. The federal government has not responded to CBC's request asking how many guns it collected.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC's Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at catharine.tunney@cbc.ca