Can You Take a Gun to Canada? Rules, Declaration, and Penalties

You can take a gun to Canada, but only within narrow limits. A conventional hunting rifle or shotgun can cross the border if you declare it in writing on a Non-Resident Firearm Declaration and pay a CAN$25 fee. Handguns are effectively off-limits to visitors after the 2022 freeze. Many rifles that are ordinary in the U.S., including the AR-15, are prohibited in Canada and will be seized. Canada does not recognize any U.S. carry permit, and self-defense is not an accepted reason to bring a firearm.

What Canada Lets You Bring

Canadian law puts every firearm into one of three classes, and the class decides whether it can enter the country at all.¹

Non-restricted firearms are most conventional hunting rifles and shotguns. These are the ones a visitor can realistically bring.
Restricted firearms include most handguns with barrels longer than 105 mm, semi-automatic centerfire rifles with barrels shorter than 470 mm, and firearms that fold or telescope to a compact length. The handgun freeze has closed the door on almost all visitor imports in this class.
Prohibited firearms include fully automatic firearms, handguns with barrels of 105 mm or shorter, handguns chambered in .25 or .32 caliber, and any firearm specifically listed by regulation. Visitors cannot bring these into Canada under any circumstance.

Guns You Cannot Bring

Two things trip up Americans more than anything else.

First, Canada reclassified more than 1,500 firearm models as prohibited by regulation in May 2020. The AR-15 and its variants, the Ruger Mini-14, and dozens of other rifles that are legal across the United States are now prohibited in Canada.² Check your specific model against the list before you leave. Showing up with a prohibited rifle means seizure and possible criminal charges.

Second, Bill C-21 received Royal Assent in December 2023 and codified the national handgun freeze that took effect by regulation in October 2022. Individuals can no longer import a handgun into Canada unless they fall into a narrow exception for competitors who train or compete in a handgun discipline on the Olympic or Paralympic program, backed by a letter from a provincial or national sport-shooting governing body.³ Those importers also need an Import Permit from Global Affairs Canada.⁴ For the ordinary American visitor, bringing a handgun is not an option.

Reasons Canada Will Accept

Border officers will ask why you have the firearm. Your answer has to fit one of the recognized purposes:

Hunting. You will also need a valid provincial hunting license, and non-resident big game hunters in many provinces must use a licensed outfitter and guide.
Target shooting at an approved club or range, or a recognized competition.
Protection against wildlife in remote areas. Only non-restricted firearms qualify.⁵
Historical reenactments, film or television productions, and certain business or scientific activities in remote areas where predator control is necessary.⁶

Self-defense against people is not on the list. Canada does not recognize U.S. concealed-carry or firearms permits, and “just in case” is not a valid reason. Say either of those to a CBSA officer and the firearm goes into a seizure locker.

How To Declare at the Border

Every non-resident bringing in a non-restricted firearm has to complete a Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, RCMP Form 5589. Fill it out ahead of time to save time at the crossing, but do not sign it until you are in front of a Canada Border Services Agency officer. Once the officer confirms it, the declaration acts as a temporary firearms license and registration good for 60 days. The fee is CAN$25, payable by cash, credit card, debit card, or traveler’s check.⁶⁵

If you already hold a Canadian Possession and Acquisition Licence and have registration certificates for any restricted firearms, you can make an oral declaration and there is no fee. You still have to declare.⁶

For the few visitors who qualify to bring a restricted firearm under the handgun freeze exceptions, an Authorization to Transport must be arranged in advance with the Chief Firearms Officer of the province where you will enter. Handle this before your trip, not at the crossing.⁷

Ammunition Limits

With a confirmed declaration or a PAL, a non-resident can bring up to 200 rounds duty-free for hunting, or up to 1,500 rounds for a recognized shooting competition. Ammunition without a valid declaration or license cannot be imported, and everything you bring has to match the declared firearm.⁵

Transport and Storage Inside Canada

Canada’s rules for moving and storing firearms are more detailed than most visitors expect, and they change with the class of firearm.

Non-Restricted

The firearm must be unloaded in transport. Left in an unattended vehicle with a trunk, it goes in the locked trunk. In a vehicle with no trunk, it must be out of sight and the vehicle or compartment locked.⁸

Restricted

Unloaded, fitted with a trigger lock or other secure locking device, and placed inside a locked opaque container sturdy enough that it cannot be easily broken into. In an unattended vehicle with a trunk, the container goes in the locked trunk. Without a trunk, the vehicle must be locked and the container hidden from view.⁹

Storage

When you are not transporting a non-restricted firearm, it must be unloaded and either fitted with a trigger lock, have its bolt removed, or be kept in a locked room or container. Ammunition stays separate or in its own locked container unless it is stored with the firearm inside a locked receptacle.⁹

Other Items That Get Americans in Trouble

Firearms are not the only concern at the border. Any device designed to discharge tear gas, mace, or an incapacitating spray is a prohibited weapon in Canada, and that includes the small pepper spray canisters many Americans carry on a keychain. Stun guns and Tasers under 480 mm are prohibited, and Taser-type firearms such as the Taser Public Defender are classified as prohibited firearms.² The legal risk is similar to bringing a prohibited firearm. Empty your bags and your vehicle before you cross.

Driving Through the U.S. To Get There

If your route takes you from a permissive state through a more restrictive one, 18 U.S.C. § 926A gives you some cover. You can transport a firearm through any state as long as you can lawfully possess it at both origin and destination, the firearm is unloaded, and neither the gun nor the ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle with no separate trunk, both must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.¹⁰

The protection is for transport, not extended stops. Some courts have held that overnight hotel stays or lengthy detours in a restrictive state fall outside it. Keep moving.

Bringing the Gun Back Home

Before you leave the United States, fill out CBP Form 4457, Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad, and present the firearm to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer for inspection and signature. On the way home, the signed form shows you owned the firearm before the trip and are not importing a new purchase. Without it, expect delays and questioning at re-entry.¹¹ Form 4457 has no effect on the Canadian side and does not replace the Non-Resident Firearm Declaration.

Penalties If You Get It Wrong

Failing to declare a firearm at the border means automatic seizure with no return. From there, criminal charges escalate quickly.

Unauthorized importing under Section 104 of the Criminal Code carries up to five years in prison as an indictable offense.¹² If the Crown proves you knew you lacked authorization, penalties for possession rise to up to 10 years.¹³ Bill C-21 raised the maximum penalty for firearms smuggling and trafficking offenses to 14 years in December 2023.³

A conviction also affects future trips. Canadian border officers have broad discretion to refuse entry to anyone with firearms-related criminal history, and a smuggling conviction on your record makes that refusal effectively permanent.

1
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Classes of Firearms in Canada
2
Department of Justice Canada. Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted
3
Government of Canada. Legislation to Reduce Gun Violence Receives Royal Assent
4
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. What You Need to Know: Changes to Handgun Transfers
5
Canada Border Services Agency. Firearms and Weapons: Canadian Border Requirements
6
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-Residents
7
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Authorization to Transport
8
Department of Justice Canada. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 10
9
Department of Justice Canada. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
11
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Temporarily Taking a Firearm or Ammunition Outside the United States
12
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Section 104
13
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code RSC 1985 c C-46 – Sections 91-92