r/canadaguns • u/Noah_S_Schwartz • May 19 '26

News / Politics / Activism When did Canada ban firearm suppressors/silencers/sound moderators?

Hi all. I am a researcher who does work on Firearms Policy. I am working on a policy paper to advocate for legalizing suppressors (as is the case in New Zealand, the UK, and most of Canada's peer countries in Europe).

I'm trying to figure out exactly when Canada banned firearm suppressors, and it's proving more difficult than I thought.

Most commentary or news sources trace the prohibition to the "early 1900s" but don't reference any laws, acts, or statutes - or even a specific year. I have checked the 1919 and 1927 editions of the criminal code, and can find no reference to a ban. It's not until the 1953 edition that Section 84 lays out a clear prohibition.

I've also searched through newspaper databases from that period (Globe, Citizen & Gazette), and the Parliamentary Hansard.

It's clear I'm missing a piece of the puzzle, but I can't seem to find it. Thus, I turn to the great collective wisdom of Reddit.

Any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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-17

u/under_hunter82376 May 19 '26

I dont know , but maybe so people know when someone's shooting . a silencer or suppresser defeats that whole purpose .

21

u/Noah_S_Schwartz May 19 '26

Suppressors are legal in the UK, New Zealand, and most Western European countries. The New Zealand version of the Canadian Firearm Safety Course Manual even lists them as essential safety equipment to protect hearing and limit sound pollution. None of these countries have experienced problems with criminals using silenced firearms - generally because criminals don't find them that useful.

9

u/ReturnOk7510 May 19 '26

generally because criminals don't find them that useful.

Makes sense. A can adds a fair amount of length to a gun, criminals are generally more interested in easily concealed weapons, and suppressed gunfire is still plenty loud so the tradeoff isn't worth it.

-13

u/under_hunter82376 May 19 '26

stuffs different here believe me .

14

u/Jksah May 19 '26

Guns with suppressors are not Hollywood quiet. Beyond that, theyre a useful hearing protection device.

-13

u/under_hunter82376 May 19 '26

definitely not Hollywood quiet , still quieter than normal gunshots though .

13

u/Phantom2k5 May 19 '26

That's kind of the point of a muffler. Be a useless device if it didn't lower the volume.
I like to compare mufflers/suppressors on firearms to that of a muffler on a car. I'm betting the vast majority of the population would not like to listen to vehicles without mufflers.

1

u/rfl-kt PM me if u think the SRA is cool 🚩🏴 May 20 '26

Quieter than unsuppressed, duh, but a suppressed .308 hunting rifle is still going to be about as loud as an unsuppressed .22LR.

Do you think all .22LR firearms should be banned for being "quieter than normal gunshots"?