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Canada-born Hashim Akbar fired as a kid when he visited Pakistan.
“It’s obviously scary. I’m a little kid, but it’s also exciting. There’s… a lot of adrenaline going through someone’s body,” said Akbar, vice president of Simon Fraser Sports Shooting Club (SFSSC), BUNABY, BCBY, BC
As a teenager, the college student tried and loved airbar shooting and now has his own lever action rifle. He applied for a gun permit last October, making him one of 7,446 Canadians under the age of 30 in 2024.
Since 2020, Canada has banned more than 2,000 guns in response to public concerns and advocates for domestic violence, violent street crime and high-profile tragedies, including the 2020 mass shootings in Nova Scotia and the 14 murders of 14 women in École Polytechnique, Montreal in 1989.
Meanwhile, the number of gun permit applicants (especially young men) has increased by thousands, with a significant increase in the age group, including adolescents.
According to the RCMP, between 2023 and 2024, young people had 11% of gun permit applications for ages 10 to 19, when there were a total of 9,654 men and 1,778 women.
This creates a situation where in many cases the country’s latest gun owners are some of Canada’s latest voters – some are looking for signals to leaders who will ease them under gun laws.
Some experts say the increase in gun ownership is mainly among young men, and is also due to concerns about the infiltration of American-style gun culture and toxic definitions of masculinity on the border.
“If you make a taboo, you will be interested”
Data from the RCMP also showed that apps increased by 3% for those aged 20 to 29 and 2.5% for those aged 30 and older. Last year, this translated into nearly 60,000 new gun owners, with nearly 7,500 under the age of 30.
Once the tests determined by the Canadian Gun Safety Course and Section 7 of the Gun Act are passed, applicants can obtain gun permits for minors between the ages of 12 and 17. Once they are 18 years old, they will need to apply for a property and a PAL.
The only exception is children under the age of 12, including indigenous minors, who need to find sustenance. If a minor is supervised by a licensed adult, a minor can also use a gun without a license – which is common in situations such as trainee training or other youth organizations.
Blair Hagen, executive vice president of the National Gun Association of Canada, said young people are very disappointed when they understand the gun ban.
“Many young Canadians are involved for a variety of reasons and the recent immigration to Canada because they want to enjoy the same rights and freedoms we have over the years,” Hagen said.
His store shelves were half empty due to the ban.
In Calgary, gun range owner James Bachynsky said newcomers often want to experience shooting guns as they see in movies. Bacini of Calgary Shooting Center said the ban hurt many gun businesses and many customers “feel the government has become increasingly invasive and restrictive.”
“If you make taboos, it will attract people’s interest.”
Who are these young guns?
Jayden Gagnon, 13, signed a safety waiver with his father, Kaven Gagnon of Calgary, before the young shooter tried the 19x pistol in the range of guns. Jayden wore safety goggles and ear protection, directed by a trainer behind the safety glass, aiming his back towards the paper rice and squeezing the trigger and squeezing a series of spine-vibrated bangs.
“You feel stronger about it. You are protected, too,” said the 8th grader.
Akbar of Simon Fraser University and classmate David Chen are new gun owners. Chen, 22, chose to spend about $700 and then buy the SKS, a semi-automatic rifle, one of the few unrestricted rifles.
He said he was worried that the gun he liked to dismantle might end up being banned. “I’m more interested in gun mechanisms,” said Chen, president of SFSSC.
Akbar said gun restrictions would be justified until a full ban was imposed in 2020. “I believe the government may have crossed the line,” he said.
He also questioned the financial wisdom of the gun buyback program, but like most of his friends said, he focused primarily on the cost of living.
Hadi Srour, a 23-year-old Carlton University student, recalled shooting first in Florida while on a family vacation. After this experience, he joined the college gun club and is now buying his first gun, even if it is banned every month.
“I think Canada is trying to stay away from guns in the direction we’re seeing right now,” he said.
“I do want to [restrictions] Maybe a bit too much, I think this is a general consensus I came to read how others feel online. ”
Gun Voting
Daniel Fritter, a publisher of Caliber Magazine, a gun publication in Kelowna, British Columbia, believes the gun issue will determine how some people vote in the upcoming federal election.
“I think the number of people that have become political issues has increased so dramatically over the past five years,” he said.
He said Canada’s record 2.4 million registered gun owners underestimate the number of actual gun owners, who he believes are close to 4 million potential voters.
Canada has seen record gun permit applications in recent years, especially from young people. Sociologists and gun range owners say social media, movies and concerns about personal safety are attracting interest.
Fritt said the number of guns Canadians own is unclear. When the law took place after the Ecole Polytechnic massacre, some Canadians hid family heirlooms and undocumented guns. He said the total number of guns recorded in Canada’s long-term registry before the shutdown in 2012 was only half the total number of guns that appeared on Canadian import records.
Montreal sociologist Marc Lafrance said the world is seeing unprecedented political shifts for young people.
“This is the first time for a young man [aged 18 to 24] “It’s more conservative than men over 55, and usually more conservative than men,” said Lafrans, associate professor at Concordia University.
He blamed social media on “Manosphere,” which he said provides young people with stable “right-wing information about gender” that defines male strength with muscles and guns.
This attracted young, frustrated men “a little bleak in the future,” Lafrans said.
“I’m not surprised that this focus is on increasing muscle and physical health because it is key to solving all the problems of men currently facing, and that gun ownership will be part of the landscape.”
Gun control party lines
The Liberal government bans pistols in most cases and promises to strengthen laws against banning assault weapons and requires owners to sell the gun to the government for destruction or disability.
By contrast, conservatives say they will control the rifles and shotguns, as well as bans on the sale, transportation and import of pistols.
She said most Canadian parties support stronger gun control, calling conservatives “outliers.”
“The Conservatives have made it very clear that they will be phased out. They have made it clear.”
While Canada has a long history of gun ownership, especially hunting in rural and indigenous communities, “When people start talking about gun owner rights, I feel very concerned about the ideological flow of thoughts from the United States,” Cukier said.
“There is no right to carry weapons in Canada,” she said.
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