Politics · Canada · 6 hrs ago
Supreme Court hears challenge to Canada’s federal firearms ban
Canada’s Supreme Court is hearing challenges to Ottawa’s firearms ban on Monday and Tuesday.
The ban was introduced in 2020 under former prime minister Justin Trudeau and covers more than 2,500 types of firearms.
The challengers argue the federal government exceeded its legal powers by banning the guns through regulations.
They include gun owners and groups, while Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario also oppose the ban.
Ottawa says the restrictions are needed to protect public safety, citing past mass shootings involving assault-style firearms.
Lower courts have twice upheld the ban, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals in March.
A temporary amnesty remains in place until 90 days after the court’s judgment, while the government is also buying back guns; by mid-2026, it had paid businesses $96 million for about 74,000 firearms.
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing challenges to the federal ban on assault-style firearms.
The hearing is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday and is the court’s biggest hearing of the fall.
The challengers argue that Ottawa exceeded its legal authority by banning the weapons through regulation.
The federal government says the ban protects public safety and is defending it at the court.
The ban covered more than 1,500 types of firearms in 2020, and the list grew to more than 2,500 in late 2024 and early 2025.
- Who
- The federal government and four challengers, including the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights. Other gun groups and Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario also oppose the ban.
- What
- The Supreme Court is hearing appeals over the federal ban on assault-style firearms.
- When
- Monday and Tuesday, according to the article published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- The Supreme Court of Canada.
- Why
- The challengers say Ottawa exceeded its legal authority. The government says the ban is intended to protect public safety.
Federal government
Firearms-ban challengers
Legal authority
Federal government
Ottawa says it has regulatory powers to ban the weapons to protect public safety.
Firearms-ban challengers
The challengers say the ban exceeds Ottawa’s legal authority and is too vague.
Purpose and impact
Federal government
The government cites deadly mass shootings involving assault-style firearms.
Firearms-ban challengers
Challengers say the ban disrupts the lives of law-abiding gun owners and affects sport shooting and hunting.
The federal government banned more than 1,500 types of firearms.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeals.
The government expanded the list of banned firearms to more than 2,500.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case.
- Banned firearm types in 2020
- More than 1,500
- Banned firearm types by late 2024 and early 2025
- More than 2,500
- Government buyback payments
- $96-million for about 74,000 guns as of mid-2026
- Average payment per weapon
- $1,300
- Amnesty period
- Until 90 days after a Supreme Court judgment
3 sources
What people are saying
Assault-style firearms designed for military use have no place in Canada
Sport shooting is destroyed and hunting disrupted
ambiguous administrative will, leaving people to navigate a standardless whim
They are not extremists; they are farmers, veterans, competitive athletes, Indigenous harvesters, and neighbours in communities across Canada.