Which firearms ban is your firearm under, and does the Supreme Court case cover it?

By Travis Bader, founder of Silvercore Outdoors.

Last updated: 28 October 2026

The four appeals the Supreme Court of Canada hears on 9 and 10 November 2026 are about one regulation: SOR/2020-96, the May 2020 Order in Council. The December 2024 regulation, SOR/2024-248, and the March 2025 regulation, SOR/2025-86, are not part of the appeals. The amnesty clock covers all three. SOR/2026-114 rewrote the three amnesty orders the same way, so each amnesty now ends on the 90th day after the last of the four appeals ends by judgment, dismissal or discontinuance. The case decides the fate of the 2020 regulation. Its end date sets the deadline for owners under all three.

Below: the three regulations side by side, how to find which one your firearm falls under, and what each outcome means for you. For the case itself, the parties and the interveners, read our explainer on the Supreme Court firearms ban appeals.

For the record on where I stand: I gave expert evidence by affidavit and expert report in Parker v. Canada (Attorney General), 2023 FC 1419, the Federal Court proceeding these appeals grew out of, and was cross-examined on it. The Doherty appellants rely on that report in their Supreme Court factum, and the CCFR factum cites my affidavit. I am a participant in this file, not a bystander.

The three regulations side by side

All three amend the same list: Part 1 of the schedule to the classification regulations, SOR/98-462. The item number in that schedule tells you which Order in Council put a firearm there.

May 2020: SOR/2020-96

Made: 1 May 2020, in force the same day, according to the Canada Gazette.
What it prohibits: approximately 1,500 models, a count the government says includes current and future variants. The regulatory impact analysis statement describes nine principal models and their variants, including the AR-15, the Ruger Mini-14 and the US Rifle M14. It also prohibits any firearm with a bore diameter of 20 mm or greater and any firearm capable of discharging a projectile with a muzzle energy greater than 10,000 joules, subject to the exceptions written into those items, and it makes the upper receiver of any firearm in item 87, the M16, AR-10, AR-15 and M4 item, a prohibited device.
Where it sits in the schedule: paragraphs 83(a) to (p) and items 87 to 96 of Part 1, plus item 4 of Part 4 for upper receivers.
Amnesty order: the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020), SOR/2020-97, for people who owned or possessed the firearm on 1 May 2020 while holding a firearms licence and who keep that licence while they possess it. A firearm that was restricted the day before also needs the registration certificate the order describes.
Court status: before the Supreme Court in files 41858, 41859, 41860 and 41861. The Federal Court upheld it in 2023 and the Federal Court of Appeal upheld it in 2025.

December 2024: SOR/2024-248

Made: 5 December 2024, in force the same day, according to the Canada Gazette.
What it prohibits: 324 makes and models in 104 families, and their current and future variants. The named designs include the FN SCAR, the CZ Bren, the Tavor X95 and the Ruger Police Carbine, including the Ruger PC Carbine.
Where it sits in the schedule: items 97 to 200 of Part 1.
Amnesty order: the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2024), SOR/2024-249, for people who owned or possessed the firearm on 5 December 2024 while holding a firearms licence and who keep that licence while they possess it. A firearm that was restricted the day before also needs the registration certificate the order describes.
Court status: not part of the Supreme Court appeals.

March 2025: SOR/2025-86

Made: 7 March 2025, in force the same day, according to the Canada Gazette.
What it prohibits: 179 makes and models in 40 families, and their current and future variants. The named designs include the US Carbine M1, the Tokarev SVT 1940, the Ljungman AG42 and several shotguns, including the Armed SF12 and the Panzer Arms BP-12.
Where it sits in the schedule: items 201 to 240 of Part 1.
Amnesty order: the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2025), SOR/2025-87, for people who owned or possessed the firearm on 7 March 2025 while holding a firearms licence and who keep that licence while they possess it. A firearm that was restricted the day before also needs the registration certificate the order describes.
Court status: not part of the Supreme Court appeals.

The three regulations are drafted the same way. Each item that names a design adds "and any variant or modified version of it", "and any variant or modified version of them" or "and any variants or modified versions of them". Items 95 and 96 of the 2020 regulation prohibit by bore diameter and muzzle energy and carry no variants wording. Each regulation opens with the same recital in substance: cabinet is not of the opinion that anything it prescribes is reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes. All three amnesty orders end on the same day.

A few models appear in more than one regulation. The Gepard GM6 Lynx is caught by item 96 of the 2020 regulation, the 10,000 joule item, and named again in item 135 of the 2024 regulation. A firearm listed in both stays prohibited under the 2024 regulation whatever happens to the 2020 one.

How to find which regulation your firearm is under

The RCMP's Firearms Reference Table page is the official place to look. Here is what the RCMP page says:

Members of the public can download the Firearms Reference Table and three separate lists of firearms prohibited by the May 1, 2020, December 5, 2024 and March 7, 2025 Orders in Council.
The RCMP recommends downloading these files and opening them in Adobe Reader.
The full Firearms Reference Table is a PDF of about 231 MB. The three prohibited lists are much smaller files.
The online, searchable Firearms Reference Table is open only to RCMP-authorized users, including members of the policing community, specific public agents and approved firearm verifiers.
Questions go to the RCMP at [email protected], or 1-800-731-4000 extension 1082 in Canada, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Eastern time.

Each download on the RCMP page is labelled with one Order in Council: May 2020, December 2024 or March 2025. If your make and model is on the December 2024 list, the RCMP places it under SOR/2024-248. The same holds for the other two. A model on two lists, such as the GM6 Lynx, is placed under both. A firearm missing from all three lists does not settle its classification. Ask the RCMP for its Firearms Reference Table record. All four RCMP files were last updated on 19 October 2026, so download them from the RCMP page each time you check and do not rely on a copy you saved months ago.

The RCMP states on that page that the Firearms Reference Table is not a legal instrument. It describes the table as an administrative document its firearms experts built from the Criminal Code, the classification regulations and the Firearms Act, and it names the Act and the regulations as the prevailing legal authority. The schedule in SOR/98-462 is the law. Read the item your firearm sits under.

Public Safety Canada also publishes a list of firearms for individuals from the compensation program. It covers firearms classified as prohibited in May 2020, December 2024 or March 2025 in one table, and Public Safety Canada says you can filter it by Firearm Reference Number, make or model. The table does not say which of the three regulations each row comes from.

Check your exact make and model against the official sources. Do not rely on summaries, including ours.

What each Supreme Court outcome means for you

If the Court dismisses the appeals

All three regulations stand, and all three amnesties end on the 90th day after the last appeal ends. The options each amnesty order lists are open now and stay open until that day: deactivate the firearm, deliver it to a police officer for destruction or other disposal, export it in accordance with all applicable legal requirements, including those of the country it goes to, or ship it by carrier for deactivation or, under an agreement with the Government of Canada, for destruction. The compensation program's declaration period for individuals closed on 31 March 2026. That notice gives 30 October 2026 as the amnesty end date. SOR/2026-114 replaced that date on 5 June 2026.

If the Court quashes the 2020 regulation

The CCFR factum asks the Court to quash the regulation or read down the variants language. The Court sets the scope and timing of any remedy. A quashing with immediate effect would generally return the firearms the 2020 regulation covered to the classification they had before 1 May 2020, subject to the Court's remedy and to any other law that now prohibits them. The government's factum asks that any relief be suspended for 12 months. If the Court grants that request, the 2020 regulation stays in force until the suspension ends. The amnesty clock runs separately: under SOR/2026-114 each amnesty ends on the 90th day after the appeals end, whether or not the Court suspends its relief. Do not use, transport, sell or transfer a firearm on the strength of the ruling until the RCMP publishes how it changes classification.

The 2024 and 2025 regulations stay in force. Firearms under them remain prohibited, and their amnesty still ends on the 90th day after the appeals end, because SOR/2026-114 ties all three amnesty orders to the same four appeals. A model listed in both the 2020 and the 2024 regulation stays prohibited.

If the Court reads down the variants language

A read-down narrows what "variants or modified versions" captures to the line the Court draws in its reasons. The named models stay prohibited. Firearms caught only as unnamed variants fall on one side of that line or the other, and that sorting happens model by model.

The same words appear in every item of the 2024 and 2025 regulations. A Supreme Court ruling that "variants or modified versions" is too vague to carry criminal consequences is a ruling on words those regulations also use. The ruling does not quash them, because they are not before the Court. Lower courts must follow the legal principles the Supreme Court lays down, so any court later asked to apply the 2024 or 2025 regulation, in a prosecution or a new application for judicial review, starts from that reasoning. Each of those regulations rests on its own regulatory record, and its validity turns on a separate challenge to it.

The authority question works the same way

The appellants' other main argument is that cabinet could not let public safety decide what is reasonable for hunting or sporting use under section 117.15(2) of the Criminal Code. The Attorney General's factum answers that the word "reasonable" permits cabinet to consider public safety in arriving at its opinion. The regulatory impact analysis statements for all three regulations give public safety as the reason for the prohibitions and state the government's view that the firearms are "unreasonable and disproportionate" for hunting or sporting purposes. A ruling on how cabinet may form that opinion speaks to all three regulations. It quashes only the one before the Court, and the 2024 and 2025 opinions stand on their own records.

In every outcome

Keep your firearms licence valid, because each amnesty order requires it for firearms. Do not sell or transfer the firearm, and use it only as your amnesty order allows. The end of these appeals starts the 90-day clock for every owner under all three regulations.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Supreme Court case cover the 2024 and 2025 firearms bans?

No. The four appeals, Supreme Court files 41858, 41859, 41860 and 41861, concern SOR/2020-96, the May 2020 regulation. The December 2024 regulation, SOR/2024-248, and the March 2025 regulation, SOR/2025-86, are not part of them.

When does the amnesty end for firearms banned in 2024 and 2025?

On the same day as the 2020 amnesty. SOR/2026-114, registered 5 June 2026, made all three amnesty orders end on the 90th day after the last of the four Supreme Court appeals ends by judgment, dismissal or discontinuance. There is no fixed calendar date.

How do I find out which regulation my firearm is under?

The RCMP's Firearms Reference Table page offers three separate downloadable lists, one for each of the May 1, 2020, December 5, 2024 and March 7, 2025 Orders in Council. The list your make and model appears on tells you which regulation the RCMP places it under. The RCMP states that the Firearms Reference Table is not a legal instrument, and the classification regulations are the law.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the 2020 ban, are the 2024 and 2025 firearms legal again?

No. The 2024 and 2025 regulations are not before the Court and stay in force whatever it decides about the 2020 regulation. Their amnesty still ends on the 90th day after the appeals end.

Were the 2024 and 2025 firearms part of the buyback?

Yes. Public Safety Canada's list of firearms for individuals in the compensation program covers firearms classified as prohibited in May 2020, December 2024 or March 2025. The declaration period for individuals closed on 31 March 2026.

The Silvercore Path

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Which firearms ban is your firearm under, and does the Supreme Court case cover it?