Canada's Firearms Buyback Program, Explained
We get asked about the firearms buyback most weeks at Silvercore. People want a straight answer: what it is, whether their firearm is affected, which deadlines are real, and what happens if they do nothing. The program has been announced, delayed, and changed enough times over six years that the confusion is fair. Here is the plain version, current as of July 2026, with links to the official government pages so you can check every detail yourself.
What the buyback actually is
The federal program is the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP), run by Public Safety Canada. It exists to compensate owners and businesses for firearms prohibited by the Order in Council that came into force on May 1, 2020 (SOR/2020-96), and by the additions made since.
Taking part is voluntary. Complying with the prohibition is not. That distinction is the whole thing, so it is worth stating plainly: you are not required to sell your firearm to the government, but you are required to stop possessing it as a working firearm by the amnesty deadline.
What is on the banned list
Since May 2020 the government has prohibited more than 2,500 makes, models, and variants. The original 2020 list covered roughly 1,500 and has grown through later additions. Government figures put the number of non-restricted makes and models still available for hunting and sport at around 19,000.
The only list that matters is the official one. Public Safety Canada publishes a list of firearms for individuals, with guidance on lower and upper receivers. Check your exact make and model against that list. If your firearm is not on it, do not declare it and do not turn anything in. The government has stated that items turned in that are not on the list will not be returned, and will be destroyed without compensation.
If you want the background on how firearm classes work in the first place, our guide to non-restricted vs restricted firearms in Canada covers how each class is defined and what it means for your licence.
Where the program is at right now
The program opened to individual owners on January 19, 2026. The declaration period for individuals closed on March 31, 2026. That was the window to register a prohibited firearm for compensation. By the close of that window, the minister's office reported more than 67,000 firearms declared by individuals, well short of the roughly 136,000 the government had budgeted for.
The next stage is collection. Public Safety Canada assesses the declarations, then gives instructions for participants to book an appointment to turn in their firearms for payment. That collection stage is expected to run from spring through early fall 2026. In regions where local police are not taking part, the government has said the RCMP will run mobile collection units.
The business side ran first. An earlier round collected roughly 12,000 firearms from businesses, which were destroyed, for about 22 million dollars. Public Safety Canada has said the program will re-open for eligible businesses in 2026.
How compensation works
Compensation is based on market price, set by Public Safety Canada. For individuals, the program is the only route to being paid for a prohibited firearm. Because the individual declaration period closed on March 31, 2026, owners who did not declare in that window can no longer register for compensation. They are still subject to the law and to the amnesty deadline below.
Payment is tied to actually surrendering the firearm during the collection stage, not to the declaration on its own.
The deadline that actually matters: October 30, 2026
The amnesty period ends on October 30, 2026. The amnesty is what currently protects licensed owners of these firearms from criminal liability while the program runs. Three amnesty orders are in play, from 2020, 2024, and 2025.
Before that date, an owner of a prohibited firearm has to do one of two things: turn it in through the program (if they declared in time), or otherwise safely dispose of it or have it permanently deactivated. After October 30, 2026, keeping a prohibited firearm in working condition means criminal liability for possession of a prohibited firearm. Permanent deactivation has to meet the standard set out in the regulations, not simply taking a firearm apart or storing it. The official program pages explain the options.
The court challenge, in brief
The 2020 prohibition has been challenged in court the whole way along. The Federal Court dismissed the challenge in 2023. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in April 2025. On March 19, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to hear the case and agreed to take up four appeals together. The core legal question is whether the government had the authority to prohibit these firearms by Order in Council rather than through Parliament.
That case is now before the Supreme Court. A hearing and ruling are not expected before the October 30, 2026 amnesty deadline. The legal fight is still live, but it is not currently changing the deadlines owners are facing. If that changes, we will update this page.
If you are in Saskatchewan or Alberta
Some provinces have taken their own positions on the program, including directing their police not to take part. Public Safety Canada specifically advises owners in Saskatchewan and Alberta to check with their provincial government about any additional rules that affect how they participate. If you are in one of those provinces, confirm the provincial situation before you do anything.
What to do now
- Check your exact make and model against the official individual list. Do not rely on any summary, including this one, for that step.
- If your firearm is on the list, read the official next-steps page for individuals so you understand the collection and compensation process and the deadlines.
- If you are unsure whether something is affected, or how deactivation works, get the answer from the official source or a qualified professional before the amnesty ends on October 30, 2026.
Official pages
- Program overview (canada.ca)
- List of firearms for individuals (canada.ca)
- Next steps for individuals (canada.ca)
- Supreme Court of Canada case file 41859
This is a moving file. The dates above are current as of July 2026. Check the official pages for the latest before you act on anything.
Travis Bader, Silvercore Outdoors
