Eh my fellow Canadian! Did you know that over 2.2 million Canadian men and women have their firearms license? That’s more Canadians than there are moose! Let’s celebrate our great nation, and learn a few Canadian firearm stats that may indeed surprise you.
- Did you know that before 1932, in order to get a handgun permit you only needed to be of “discretion and good character”? Thankfully, things have changed. Starting that same year, you had to give reasons for wanting a handgun, such as to protect life or property, and/or intend to use the firearm at an approved shooting club. Since then, stricter requirements have been put in place to obtain handguns, including the requirement for a valid RPAL (Restricted Possession and Acquisition License), a 28-day cooling period, plus extremely strict storage conditions.
- Did you know that there are approximately 1,400 target-shooting ranges in Canada? That’s about the same as our number of hospitals. For the 15-20 million guns in the hands of licensed owners, there is no shortage of gun clubs and ranges to have some responsible target practice shooting fun.
- Did you know that team Canada had two shooters in the 2016 summer Olympics, and both were women? Three-time Olympian Cynthia Myer competed in women’s trap shooting along with Pan Am Games double gold medalist, Lynda Kiejko, who competed in women’s 10m air pistol and 25m pistol. But, we can’t talk about great Canadian female shooters without mentioning Susan Nattrass, who at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal became the first woman to compete in trap shooting against men. She went on to have six more Olympic appearances.
Did any of these facts surprise you? Hopefully, you learned something new and interesting about firearms in our great country. If you didn’t, well, we offer you our most sincere Canadian “sorry”. Happy and safe shooting!