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Criminal Code

s. 95 Possession of Prohibited or Restricted Firearm with Ammunition

Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition

  • Weapons & Firearms
  • Weapons & Firearms
Maximum sentence
14 years
Classification
Hybrid

Last verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca

The law says

Criminal Code s. 95
Verify on justice.gc.ca(opens in a new tab)
  • (1)Subject to subsection (3), every person commits an offence who, in any place, possesses a loaded prohibited firearm or restricted firearm, or an unloaded prohibited firearm or restricted firearm together with readily accessible ammunition that is capable of being discharged in the firearm, without being the holder of (a) an authorization or a licence under which the person may possess the firearm in that place; and
  • (b)the registration certificate for the firearm.
  • (2)Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years; or
  • (b)is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
  • (3)Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who is using the firearm under the direct and immediate supervision of another person who is lawfully entitled to possess it and is using the firearm in a manner in which that other person may lawfully use it.
Amendment History (10)
  • R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 95
  • 1991, c. 28, s. 8, c. 40, ss. 9, 37
  • 1993, c. 25, s. 93
  • 1995, c. 39, s. 139
  • 2008, c. 6, s. 8
  • 2012, c. 6, s. 5(E)
  • 2019, c. 25, s. 25
  • 2022, c. 15, s. 4
  • 2023, c. 32, s. 14
  • 2023, c. 32, s. 71

Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.

Immigration

Where this offence sits under IRPA

This offence is hybrid. On indictment, the top sentence is 14 years (raised by 2022, c. 15). A conviction is treated as serious criminality under IRPA s.36(1). Holding a loaded prohibited or restricted gun, or one with ammunition close at hand, has severe immigration effects.

This is how the law sorts the offence, not a reading of any one record. An officer decides each case.

IRPA sections involved

Guides on offences like this one

No guide cites this section directly. These guides cite related offences.