Carry and Concealment of Weapons in Canada

Recently I have gotten into a heavy debate with my co-worker on whether or not it is legal to carry a knife or a gun. I have spoken to an RCMP officer at work and I was asking him questions about self defence and about weapons.

The officer basically said this yes your are allowed to carry any knife as long its not a prohibited knife. I asked him if your allor to carry a gun he said yes as long as you are licensed.

My co-worker said no you are not allowed to carry knives or a gun anywhere and apparently he asked an RCMP for the information...He said the certain size are not allowed I told him that law applys to Ontario and other provinces. I told him I have alteast 14 knives which I have collected in my survival kit he said that illegal...I told him that is not illegal because the law does not specify quantities it only specifies the type of knives.

Logically speaking we have retailers in the mall and corner stores who are selling knives to people. If you can buy knives obviously you'll have to carry it to your car and then to your home. If you work in a place where you have to do some cutting, slicing...etc you'll use a knife but to get to work place carry it obviously you'll have conceal it so you dont freak out people..if you want to go camping or doing bushcrafts obviously you'll need to carry a knife. if you are not allowed to carry or posses a knife then there is no point in selling them or even allow them into country in the first place.

With this said lets get to the bottom of this once and for all are you allowed to carry a gun as long you are licesened? are you allowed the carry manuall folding knive or fixed blade knives?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Elmocall911

You can have a knife.

You can't legally own a handgun in Canada anyway, barring extremely rare situations, what are you going to carry, a shotgun? lol

WOOT!!! for the knife so that means I can survive in the forest...seriously gun laws is nothing more than to control people and to EASILY disarme them and then as usual you have goolag/concentration camp scene...seriously i plan getting the hell out of the city for good when the riot starts going off...

it is absolutely legal in canada to have a handgun i have several
to get them to the range i have them in a case that locks and a trigger lock on the gun inside the case unloaded
im not sure you can carry it around loaded in a holster

as for knifes swords legal so are crossbows and regular bows

i think with knifes it really just depends on the situation i dont think the police are overly concerned about them but it really just depends as always if they want to be losers about it they will be

Its funny how they will put a gun in your hands and tell you to defend the country but they will not let you defend yourself. I feel sorry for Canadians they are lead by a small minority of progressives. And the minority bent the majority over and really gave it to them hard. I wish I had a smiley face that would do it justice.

[edit on 12-2-2010 by Subjective Truth]

there is three different license in Canada for guns

FAC old name or firearm licence possession - this allows you to buy sell trade ammo and most shotguns and rifles - no full auto

then there is restricted this allows handgun ownership - no full auto

then the highest allows you to have ak-47 style guns but is rarer and they have what they call a grandfather clause where you might not even be allowed to
purchase one but you are allowed to inherit them thus called grandfathered

i think police and military have yet another classification

any gun you purchase in canada you have to call a number and ask permission to own it tell them the gun serial number ect they then tell you if you can have the gun or not then you can leave the store with the gun in a locked case

dont let the media fool you there are allot of guns in Canada always has been and always will be there are allot of big bad animals that you have to protect yourself from in the wilderness in Canada

i would bet that the numbers of people that own weapons in Canada and the US is probably almost identical

each province has there own special laws as to gun ownership but i think they are all fairly similar

reply to post by dean007


Really I heard differently? I heard Olympic shooter could not even practice in Canada. I am glad to hear this is not the truth everyone should have the right to own a gun.


And thank you for setting me straight. I would rather be wrong on an issue like this than right.

[edit on 12-2-2010 by Subjective Truth]

reply to post by ZombieOctopus


You can't own a handgun in Canada? I'm pretty sure i was shooting one a few weeks ago. Legally. And I'm also pretty sure the old fart who took me shooting carries it with him on a side harness.

And im pretty sure he use to be a cop. And a ex-Hells Angels member

Yeah you can carry, and own, any gun in Canada.

Sadly, Harper is trying to ban that.

Say hello to an invasion.

EDIT: Sorry, as long as it hold only 5 bullets per magazine. Thats the limit, and the mags are made so they hold no more.

[edit on 12-2-2010 by gandhi]

reply to post by dean007


I agree, well, the ratio to gun owners are probably close, not the numbers.

Canada has what, 30 mil? and the us has about 310 mil, so the numbers are definitely different.

It's my understanding that most (not fully auto) firearms are legal here in Canada. As a previous poster mentioned handguns are legal but rare. They can only be discharged at shooting ranges and must be locked down when transporting. Handguns are somewhat impractical as there are so many restrictions regarding them. I don't know of any hunting season for handguns.

Rifles and shotguns however are prevalent. Almost every farm or country home has a shotgun for hunting and pest control or the putting down of injured or sick livestock. Many other home owners are hunters, mostly water fowl where I live (geese and ducks).

Where I am there is no season or situation that would allow the discharge of large caliber rifles due to the fact that there is no large game or large tracks of wilderness. Hunters do store large caliber rifles as they frequently travel to provinces with deer and moose every season. Many folks have .22 calibers for rabbits and other small game. Mostly 12 gauges though.

As for knives, It is my understanding that as long as the fixed blade knife is not concealed and under 10 inch blade and worn on the belt it is fine. Same for folding knives. I do not know what the deal is on machetes or large survival knives. I have a Kershaw Outcast, which has a 10 inch blade but is classified as a machete, for around my country home and for clearing purposes when I go hiking through trails that grow over with the seasons. However, I would never carry it in town or public as I suspect it would be in violation.

Funny when it came in the mail, the seller labeled it "Field Utility Tool" on the shipping label. It made it across the border without incident.

reply to post by Elmocall911


You are allowed to carry a knife as long as it meets requirements. It can not be a switchblade or auto, 'assisted' balisong (butterfly) or spring loaded, it can not be a certain size (I think 480mm) that folds down to a certain size, it can not be over a certain length blade ie. machete.

If you have a standard folding knife it is no problem. I often carry one, though very rare any more because I considered what would I do if I stabbed someone.
If you have a fixed blade I believe 6 inches is the general concensus but why you would want anything bigger anyway is beyond me.

You are not allowed to carry OR conceal a firearm on your person at any time (unless you have a valid requirement as an Officer). Even officers have to keep their firearms in view. I do not believe any civilian can even obtain a conceal permit in Canada.


reply to post by dean007

Thats both true and not. You can own a handgun that has limited 10rd mag, is not firing 25 or 32 calibre, certain barrell length (I know revolvers must be over 4 inches). And you need your restricted license.

You are right in carrying your pistol in a case, safe transport is requirement here, you could not carry it in a holster on your person.

Swords are not legal (except in religious case and I think that is even changing) crossbows are only legal if they can not be used single handed and a certain length. All bows are legal but they can not use explosive arrow tips (kinda weird to say but its in there).

Originally posted by Ridhya
reply to post by Elmocall911

 

... it can not be over a certain length blade ie. machete.

You can buy sheathed machetes at Canadian Tire. Are these being sold illegally?

A list of the Firearm laws and what is legal and not in Canada.

stason.org...

stason.org...

Firearm Act of Canada

The Criminal Code of Canada has it pertains to firearms

Some people are allowed to carry concealed handguns but permission for this is rare and it is almost impossible to get now days except for LEO's.

Originally posted by dean007
it is absolutely legal in canada to have a handgun i have several
to get them to the range i have them in a case that locks and a trigger lock on the gun inside the case unloaded
im not sure you can carry it around loaded in a holster

as for knifes swords legal so are crossbows and regular bows

i think with knifes it really just depends on the situation i dont think the police are overly concerned about them but it really just depends as always if they want to be losers about it they will be

Back in the day (before the '96 gun ban in the UK) most UK gun owners would be concealed carrying rather than leave their pistols in their vehicles.

Easy to say 'transport' in your car. But what happens if you are stopping off somewhere? Getting a bite to eat?
Getting work done at the garage?
Gun owners would man-up and carry it on them rather than leave it in the car at the risk of joy-riders, car-thieves and so on.

Originally posted by Ridhya

Swords are not legal (except in religious case and I think that is even changing) crossbows are only legal if they can not be used single handed and a certain length. All bows are legal but they can not use explosive arrow tips (kinda weird to say but its in there).

That part is not really true. You can buy swords. There are plenty of shops that sell them. I know for crossbows you can only use them for hunting if you are disabled and cannot operate a bow.

I have the books for both regular and restricted licenses in front of me now. You cannot carry and conceal in Canada as a regular citizen. For handguns you are only permitted to use them legally at a certified gun range. You have to inform the RCMP or local police if you have plans to transport them.

The long rifle thing is confusing. You can have an mini 14, but you are not allowed to own an AR15, even though they are basically the same gun. You can modify your M14 a certain extent, but there are some mods that as soon as put on make it illegal. You cannot own a Barrett 50cal, yet there are certain manufacturers that you can own such as Steyr.

Also whoever said that each province has it's own rules is incorrect. The firearms laws are Federal, not Provincial. That means that every person in Canada has to abide by the same rules and regulations.

I can come up with examples that contradict pretty much every statement posted here so far. The fact is there is really little understanding of this. Even the police have told me several contradicting things about knives, guns and other weapons(I'm sure to serve themselves as much as possible).

The only way you are going to know for sure is to study the regulations yourself AND consult lawyers that have been through this part of legislation.

Originally posted by gandhi
reply to post by ZombieOctopus

 

You can't own a handgun in Canada? I'm pretty sure i was shooting one a few weeks ago. Legally. And I'm also pretty sure the old fart who took me shooting carries it with him on a side harness.

And im pretty sure he use to be a cop. And a ex-Hells Angels member

Yeah you can carry, and own, any gun in Canada.

Sadly, Harper is trying to ban that.

Say hello to an invasion.

EDIT: Sorry, as long as it hold only 5 bullets per magazine. Thats the limit, and the mags are made so they hold no more.

[edit on 12-2-2010 by gandhi]

What? I'm confused. I was interested in getting a license a few years ago but after I found that owning a handgun was next to impossible I moved on.

To my understanding, to own a pistol you have to have a legitimate reason, ie; someone is stalking you with the intent to kill you and you need it for protection. I was told that only a few handgun licenses get issued every year, mainly to private detectives and such.

The exception to the rule is if you owned a handgun before the laws changed (grandfathering), but you can't transfer it or buy another one. So, did you always have a handgun, or were you able to get a license somehow?

I fully reserve the right to be wrong, but this is what I found when I looked into it...

Where would you even buy a handgun, I haven't seen them for sale since I was kid living up north.

Originally posted by ZombieOctopus
You can have a knife.

You can't legally own a handgun in Canada anyway, barring extremely rare situations, what are you going to carry, a shotgun? lol

Actually you can own handguns with relative ease. I have a .40 cal Beretta that I own, but I also have a PAL (possession and acquisition license) for restricted and non restricted firearms.

You do have to take a firearms course, and you cannot have a weapons ban on you.

Knives with a cutting edge over 6" cannot be concealed. However you can carry a knife longer than this, but expect to get stopped by the cops. Switchblades, butterfly knives are against the law. gravity blades and projectile blades are also not legal.

In addition, when you buy the firearm, the shop or range will apply for a transport permit for you. This will allow you to transport your firearm anytime you want to a bona fide range or firearm repair facility and back to your home. The transport permit lasts as long as the renewal of your license or until you move residence. You would need to apply for a transport permit before you moved, and they are usually only good for the province you live in. All of the firearm laws are federal here, so all of Canada follows the same laws.

To carry and conceal a firearm, you must apply for your "Black" badge. Usually former LEO's, military are able to get this, or if you can prove a real and significant need. If someone is stalking you from the internet, your on your own. They will probably not let you have a license if you were to write that in.

..Ex

[edit on 2/12/2010 by v3_exceed]

[edit on 2/12/2010 by v3_exceed]

reply to post by sparrowstail

reply to post by Rook1545

You guys didnt read what I said carefully. We were talking about carrying not selling/purchasing.

You can not walk down the street with a machete or katana. You can buy them and go camping.

I know I bought a katana in Japan and brought it back.