Mandatory firearm licence revocations for domestic violence

Summary#

The Order Fixing April 4, 2025 as the Day on Which Sections 16 and 36 of An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms) Come into Force sets April 4, 2025 as the date two parts of An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms) take effect. Practically, it makes some licence refusals and licence revocations mandatory in situations involving intimate partner, family, domestic or gender-based violence, and creates a narrow option for a conditional licence for hunting or trapping in limited cases.

What it does#

• Fixes the coming-into-force date: April 4, 2025 for sections 16 and 36 of the named Act.
• Section 16 (licence ineligibility):
  • Makes people convicted after the coming-into-force date of offences involving the use, threat or attempt of violence against an intimate partner or family member ineligible for a firearms licence.
  • Makes people subject to a “protection order” ineligible — but that element only becomes operative once a regulation defines “protection order” (that regulation has not yet been made).
• Section 36 (licence revocation):
  • Requires Chief Firearms Officers (CFOs) to revoke a licence within 24 hours when they have reasonable grounds to suspect the licence holder may have committed domestic violence or stalking.
  • Requires revocation to occur automatically if an individual becomes subject to a protection order — again, only once “protection order” is defined in regulation.
• Conditional licences:
  • Allows a CFO to issue a limited, conditional possession-and-acquisition licence for people who need a firearm to hunt or trap to sustain themselves or their family, even if refused or revoked under the above rules.
  • Applicants must satisfy the CFO that the firearm is needed for sustenance hunting/trapping; regulators plan to add factors to guide those decisions.
• Process and timing:
  • Notices of refusal or revocation must be given and include reasons; individuals must surrender firearms within the time stated (typically within 24 hours unless extended by the CFO).
  • Right to ask a provincial court judge to review the CFO decision, normally within 30 days.
  • The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) will use existing systems immediately and add automation about 10 months after coming into force.
• Some elements depend on future regulatory changes (notably the formal definition of “protection order” and the list of factors for conditional licences).

Who's affected#

• Current and future firearms licence applicants and licence holders across Canada.
• Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic and family violence, and gender-based violence—who may be better protected if firearms are removed from risky situations.
• People convicted after April 4, 2025 of offences involving threats, attempts or use of violence against an intimate partner or family member (they become ineligible).
• People who become subject to protection orders once those orders are defined and reported under new rules.
• Chief Firearms Officers (CFOs) and the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP), who will make and record these licence decisions.
• Courts and other authorities that issue protection orders, and police who report incidents (through systems like the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS) and Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC)).
• Indigenous people and remote sustenance hunters/trappers: the order includes a process (conditional licences) intended to reduce harm to those who rely on hunting or trapping to feed themselves or their families, but details depend on forthcoming regulations.

If it’s unclear who is affected by a specific point, that is because the formal definition of “protection order” and related reporting rules are not yet in regulation.

Why it matters#

• The change speeds up and makes mandatory some licence revocations and refusals in cases linked to domestic or intimate-partner violence. That can remove firearms from people suspected of dangerous behaviour more quickly.
• It responds to data cited by the government showing firearms are present in many IPV incidents (for example, a firearm was present in 1,038 IPV incidents in 2023 and 84% of those victims were women and girls), which is the public safety rationale for the move.
• There is a trade-off: people who legally use firearms for sustenance hunting or cultural practices may be affected. The conditional licence is meant to reduce that impact, but how it will work depends on rules yet to be written.
• Some key parts won’t operate until regulations define “protection order” and set reporting duties for courts and other authorities. That means the practical scope of the changes will increase over time as those regulations are completed.