Firearm Storage Requirements in Canada: Transport and Penalties

Firearm storage requirements in Canada are set by federal regulation and apply the same way in every province and territory: an unloaded firearm, secured according to its class, with ammunition kept out of easy reach. The Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations, made under the Firearms Act, spell out what “secured” means for non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited firearms.¹ Getting it wrong is a Criminal Code offence under section 86, punishable by up to five years in prison.²

Storing Non-Restricted Firearms

Non-restricted firearms cover most standard hunting rifles and shotguns. When the firearm is not in use, it must be unloaded and secured by one of three methods:³

Fitted with a trigger lock, cable lock, or similar device that prevents it from being fired.
With the bolt or bolt carrier removed so the action cannot cycle.
Placed in a container or room that is securely locked and built solidly enough that it cannot easily be broken into.

These are alternatives, not layers. A trigger lock on its own is enough, or a locked gun cabinet on its own is enough. You do not need to combine them for a non-restricted firearm.

Ammunition adds one more condition. The firearm must not be readily accessible to ammunition unless that ammunition is itself kept in a securely locked container that resists forced entry.⁴ In practice you can keep ammunition in the same room as the firearm if it sits inside its own locked box, or store it in a different room entirely.

Wilderness and Predator Exceptions

In a genuinely remote wilderness area, with no visible use incompatible with hunting, the locking device and ammunition-separation requirements do not apply to a non-restricted firearm. A narrower exception covers predator control: if you reasonably need the firearm to protect against predators or other animals in a place where discharge is lawful, you can temporarily skip the locking or disabling requirement. The firearm must still be unloaded when not actively needed.⁵

Storing Restricted and Prohibited Firearms

Handguns and certain semi-automatic or fully automatic firearms are restricted or prohibited. One precaution is not enough on its own; the regulations require layered security.

A restricted firearm must be unloaded and meet one of these two standards:⁶

Fitted with a secure locking device such as a trigger lock and placed in a locked container or room that is solidly built and resists forced entry.
Stored in a vault, safe, or room specifically built or modified for secure firearm storage and kept locked.

Prohibited firearms follow the same two-option structure, with one addition. If the firearm is an automatic with a removable bolt or bolt carrier, the bolt must be taken out and stored in a different, locked room from the firearm itself.⁷

Ammunition rules mirror those for non-restricted firearms, but restricted and prohibited owners get an extra option: ammunition can also be stored in the same purpose-built vault, safe, or room that holds the firearm, since that space already meets the higher security standard.⁶

No Required Safe Rating

Canadian law does not require a gun safe to carry any specific security rating, such as UL or RSC certification. The legal test is functional: the container must be solidly built, hard to break into, and kept locked.⁸ A reinforced steel gun safe will comfortably meet the standard. A thin sheet-metal cabinet with a flimsy lock likely will not, even if it closes with a key.

Displaying Firearms at Home

Displaying a firearm on a wall mount or in a glass cabinet is legal, but the rules go beyond what applies to firearms tucked away in storage.

A restricted or prohibited firearm on display in a home must be:⁹

Unloaded.
Fitted with a secure locking device.
Physically attached to a non-portable structure so it cannot easily be removed, typically by bolting a steel cable or bracket into wall studs or floor joists.
Not displayed with, or readily accessible to, compatible ammunition.

If the displayed firearm is an automatic with a removable bolt or bolt carrier, the bolt has to be removed and kept in a separate, locked room. Non-restricted firearms on display must also be unloaded and rendered inoperable, most commonly with a secure locking device, but they do not need to be chained or bolted to a structure.⁸

Transporting Firearms in Vehicles

The regulations draw a sharp line between attended and unattended vehicles. The moment you step away from your vehicle, stricter rules apply.

Non-Restricted Firearms in Transit

During transport, a non-restricted firearm must be unloaded. The only exception is a muzzle-loading firearm being moved between hunting sites, which needs only its firing cap or flint removed.¹⁰

If you leave the vehicle unattended, the firearm has to go in the trunk (or a similar compartment that locks) and that compartment must be locked. If the vehicle has no trunk, the firearm must be out of sight and the vehicle itself must be locked. In a remote wilderness area where the vehicle cannot be locked, keep the firearm hidden and fit it with a secure locking device, unless you reasonably need it for predator control.

Restricted and Prohibited Firearms in Transit

A restricted firearm must be unloaded, fitted with a secure locking device, and placed inside a locked, opaque container strong enough that it cannot readily be broken into or accidentally opened during transport.¹¹ A padded hard-sided gun case with a quality lock is the standard approach. If you leave the vehicle unattended, the locked case has to go in a locked trunk, or if there is no trunk, the vehicle must be locked and the case hidden from outside view.

The regulations set no time limit for how long a firearm may sit in an unattended vehicle, but leaving one overnight in a parked car is risky. If a break-in happens and the storage was arguably inadequate, a careless-storage charge can follow on top of the loss.

Ammunition Rules and Quantity Limits

The core rule for ammunition is that it must not be readily accessible to the firearm it fits. You satisfy this in one of two ways:⁵

Store the ammunition in a different location from the firearm, such as a separate room or cabinet.
Keep the ammunition in a securely locked container that resists forced entry. Under this method the ammunition can sit right beside the firearm, or in the same safe.

The firearms storage regulations do not cap how much ammunition you can keep at home, but a separate federal regime does. Under the Explosives Regulations, 2013, you may store up to 225 kg of small arms cartridges at any one time.¹² Propellant powder has its own limits: no more than 25 kg total in a detached house, of which no more than 10 kg can be black powder. Tighter limits apply in non-detached dwellings like townhouses and apartments. These caps matter most to handloaders who keep bulk powder on hand.

Antique and Deactivated Firearms

Antique firearms are exempt from the main storage, display, and transportation rules in sections 5 through 13 of the regulations, but not from every requirement.⁵ An antique must still be unloaded when stored, displayed, or transported. In an unattended vehicle the same trunk-or-hidden-and-locked rules apply. An antique handgun must travel in a locked, opaque container strong enough to resist being broken into.

Deactivated firearms rendered permanently inoperable to RCMP specifications are no longer legally considered firearms, so the storage regulations do not apply to them at all.

Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms

If a firearm is lost or stolen, you must report it promptly to a peace officer, firearms officer, or chief firearms officer. The same obligation applies to a firearm you find that appears to have been lost or abandoned: report it or turn it in right away.¹³

Failing to report is a standalone criminal offence. Prosecuted as an indictable offence, it carries up to five years in prison. The Crown may also proceed by summary conviction. The offence has nothing to do with how the firearm was used; the failure to pick up the phone is enough.

Penalties for Unsafe Storage

Section 86 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to store, transport, handle, or ship any firearm or ammunition carelessly, or in a way that contravenes the storage regulations.² It is a hybrid offence, meaning the Crown chooses whether to proceed by indictment or summary conviction.

Indictable, first offence: up to two years in prison.
Indictable, second or subsequent offence: up to five years in prison.
Summary conviction: up to two years less a day in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.¹⁴

The sentence is not the whole picture. A conviction can bring a court-imposed prohibition order banning firearm possession for a set period. Even without a formal prohibition, a conviction almost always triggers a review by the chief firearms officer that puts your licence at serious risk. Losing the licence means surrendering every firearm you own, which is often the harsher consequence.

1
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations
2
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 86
3
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section: Storage of Non-Restricted Firearms
4
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section: Storage of Non-Restricted Firearms
5
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations
6
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 6
7
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 7
8
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Storing, Transporting and Displaying Firearms
9
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 9
10
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 10
11
Justice Laws Website. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations – Section 11
12
Justice Laws Website. Explosives Regulations, 2013
13
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 105
14
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 787