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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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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u/NiagaraBTC May 19 '26

When nunchucks are outlawed, only outlaws will have nunchucks

21

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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u/ReturnOk7510 May 19 '26

God that would have been so fucking awesome

2

u/8x56isfmj000 May 20 '26

We use to make throwing stars in shop class, there were some stuck in the roof of the shop.

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

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u/8x56isfmj000 May 20 '26

I should have mentioned that this was in the later 70’s. You know when the farm kids would burn purple gas and you could smoke on the stairs of the school.

1

u/acidboogie nb May 19 '26

My theory is that a parliamentarian heard Carl Douglas on the radio and mistook it for a breaking news broadcast.