Supreme Court hears challenge to federal firearms ban

The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing two days of arguments this week, starting Monday, on whether the federal government lawfully banned hundreds of types of firearms, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, The Canadian Press reported.

The hearings, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, give gun owners another chance to argue that the 2020 ban went beyond the powers Parliament gave the federal cabinet. They lost at the Federal Court in October 2023 and at the Federal Court of Appeal in April 2025.

The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, firearm owners, businesses, hunters and sport shooters brought the appeal. Ottawa prohibited the use, sale and importation of 1,500 firearm models and variants in May 2020. The list of banned guns has since grown to more than 2,500 varieties of what the government calls assault-style firearms, The Canadian Press reported.

A key question is whether cabinet followed a provision of the law that bars it from outlawing a firearm it considers “reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes.” Federal Court of Appeal Chief Justice Yves de Montigny, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, said he was not persuaded the government erred in weighing public safety when it applied that test.

In a written submission to the Supreme Court, federal lawyers said cabinet’s broad discretion was used reasonably and was justified by public safety concerns, because the banned guns can increase the severity of mass shootings. They said the prohibited firearms were owned by an estimated three to five per cent of Canadian firearms owners and that thousands of alternatives remain legal for hunting and sport.

The appellants say the lower courts never asked whether the banned items were actually used for hunting or sport shooting. Their submission describes the people affected as farmers, veterans, competitive athletes, Indigenous harvesters and neighbours in communities across the country, and says the ban left them “deprived of its lawful use and exposed to the prospect of criminal liability.”

Owners had been told they must dispose of or deactivate the prohibited firearms by the end of an amnesty period on Oct. 30 of this year. That deadline has been extended until 90 days after the Supreme Court delivers its decision, which The Canadian Press said is expected no later than next year. Owners are therefore not yet required to surrender the guns.

The Supreme Court did not say when it will rule. It usually reserves judgment after hearing a case, so a decision is not expected this week.

This story draws on reporting by The Canadian Press, published by CBC News and The Canadian Press.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.