Protection Orders and Conditional Firearm Licences

Summary#

This is a proposed set of changes to the Firearms Licences Regulations published in the Canada Gazette on March 8, 2025 by Public Safety Canada / Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. It would define what counts as a “protection order,” require certain courts and authorities to report those orders, and set rules for when a firearms licence must be refused or revoked and when a limited “conditional” licence for sustenance hunting can be issued. The proposal is still open for comment for 30 days and would come into force once parts of former Bill C-21 are brought into force (targeted Fall 2025).

What it does#

• Defines a “protection order” in the Firearms Licences Regulations as a civil order (from courts or other competent authorities) that restricts behaviour for someone’s safety. Examples listed include bans on contacting or being near a person, occupying a residence, or engaging in family or domestic violence.
• Defines “other competent authority” to include justices of the peace and councils, governments, or other entities that can act for Indigenous groups (so some Indigenous orders would be covered).
• Requires courts and those other authorities to report the issuance, variation or revocation of a protection order to relevant officials so a licence refusal or revocation can be actioned.
• Makes licence refusal or revocation mandatory where a person becomes subject to a protection order as defined.
• Requires people whose licence is revoked to surrender firearms (the notice may set a surrender deadline such as 24 hours or another time the Chief Firearms Officer specifies).
• Creates rules for a limited “conditional licence” so a person who would otherwise lose licence privileges can, in specific and narrow circumstances, get permission to possess non-restricted firearms only to hunt or trap to sustain themselves or their family. The changes:
  • Limit conditional licences to non-restricted firearms (typical rifles and shotguns).
  • Require the applicant to provide a written statement explaining the need to hunt or trap for sustenance.
  • Require the Chief Firearms Officer to consider a list of factors (for example, whether hunting is the primary but not sole source of food or income, frequency of hunting, criminal record, and the nature of the reason the licence was revoked).
  • Keep other existing eligibility checks and allow the officer to add safety conditions (for example, storage requirements).
• Adds administrative steps and record-keeping for the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program and Chief Firearms Officers to process and act on reported protection orders.

Who's affected#

• People who hold or apply for firearms licences and who become subject to a protection order. Their licence would be refused or revoked while the order is in force.
• People who rely on hunting or trapping for food or income (including many residents in rural and northern areas and some Indigenous people) who might seek a conditional licence to allow limited firearm access for sustenance.
• Courts, clerks, justices of the peace, and other decision-makers that issue protection orders — they would need to report those orders to firearms authorities.
• Chief Firearms Officers and the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program, which would take on new processing and IT work to manage reports and trigger licence actions.
• The item does not create direct burdens for businesses. The proposal estimates impacts on individuals, governments and courts; the exact number of orders nationally is unclear and was estimated in the analysis.

Why it matters#

• The intent is to reduce the risk that people subject to protection orders retain access to firearms. The government says this could lower firearm-related injuries and deaths in intimate partner and family-violence situations.
• Practical effects: if someone is subject to a covered protection order, they can lose licence privileges and may have to surrender firearms. That affects everyday activities like hunting, sports shooting, or collecting guns — unless they qualify for a tightly limited conditional licence for sustenance hunting.
• The proposal creates new duties for courts and law‑enforcement systems, so there will be administrative and IT costs to set up reporting and processing. The regulatory analysis estimates total implementation costs of about $20,169,082 and total benefits of about $254,321,196, giving a net benefit of about $234,152,114 over ten years (annualized $33,456,703). These are the government’s estimates and depend on modeling assumptions.
• The rules aim to balance public safety and food-security/cultural needs: they specifically allow some paths for sustenance hunters while prioritizing the safety of people at risk. The analysis notes the rules will likely affect more men (who are the majority of licence holders) while benefiting people — particularly women in rural and Indigenous communities — who are disproportionately victims of intimate partner firearm violence.
• This is a proposal, not final law. Interested parties can comment during the 30-day consultation window after the Gazette notice. The exact date the rules would start depends on when related parts of former Bill C-21 are brought into force (targeted Fall 2025).