Every year, many Canadians lose loved ones to gun violence that could have been prevented. In 2023, 289 people were killed with firearms, more than half of them by handguns, and police reported over 14,000 firearm-related violent crimes across the country (Statistics Canada, 2025). Moreover, between 2016 and 2020, guns were responsible for 4,005 deaths, a devastating reminder that the consequences of firearm violence are measured not in statistics but in lives, families, and futures lost (Injury Epidemiology Journal, 2023).

Behind many of these tragedies lies a pattern: legally purchased guns being resold or “straw-purchased”. This means someone with a clean record buys them, then hands them to a person who would fail a background check. According to Public Safety Canada, roughly 58% of traced crime guns have domestic origins, meaning they were once legally owned here in Canada before being diverted into illegal hands (Public Safety Canada, 2023).

Every time that happens, another preventable death becomes possible. Straw purchasing is not a victimless crime; it is an invisible chain that ends in a deadly gunshot.

This petition demands that Parliament and the Canadian Government act immediately and close the deadly loopholes allowing straw purchases and unrecorded private sales.

Each of the following actions would save lives directly, and this is how:

1. Require Logging of All Firearms Transfers

What it does: This requires every firearm being transferred, whether purchased from a shop or sold privately, to be logged with the buyer, seller, date, and serial number.

Why it matters: Without logging, firearms become "untraceable" following a private sale. Logging all transactions makes individuals accountable and allows police to trace quickly firearms recovered at crimes back to where they came from, deterring resale and theft through illegal channels.

2. Mandatory Verification Through the Chief Firearms Officer (CFO)

What it does: Sellers must check the buyer's license and entitlement through the CFO or an acceptable online portal before sale or transfer.

Why it matters: It closes the "private sale loophole," where buyers without verification can continue to purchase guns. It ensures all guns reach responsible, law-abiding hands only.

3. Create a Specific Criminal Offence for Straw Purchasing

What it does: Establishes a specific, independent offence, with serious penalties, for a person who buys a firearm on behalf of another person who is legally prohibited from owning one.

Why it matters: Straw purchases are currently difficult to prosecute because they are encompassed under general trafficking offences. A stand-alone offence would make charging and convicting facilitators of unlawful access to firearms more convenient for police and prosecutors.

4. Random Audits and Compliance Checks

What it does: Allows CFOs and law enforcement to audit repeat private sellers or suspicious patterns of transfers.

Why it matters: The vast majority of individuals do the right thing, but a few usual sellers secretly sell dozens of guns in their absence. Audits detect diversion patterns early, shutting down illegal pipelines before tragedy strikes.

5. Add a "Recall" or Accountability Mechanism

What it does: If the traced firearm is later used in a violent crime, the original sale record is automatically traced and, if negligence can be proven, the seller's licence can be suspended or withdrawn.

Why it matters: This promotes personal responsibility. If all sellers' names are potentially included in a gun trace, they will think twice about coasting on a sale or not taking warning signs seriously.

6. Pilot and Assess in Selected Provinces, Then Scale Nationwide

What it does: Implements these reforms in provinces with the highest levels of gun violence, with independent assessment and public disclosure before scaling nationwide.

Why it matters: Evidence-based rollout ensures that policies are efficient, effective, and transparent, and that data, not politics, drive national gun safety law.

Why Sign This Petition

By signing this petition, you are adding your voice to a national demand for accountability, safety, and common sense. Your voice makes a difference in five vital ways:

1. It puts pressure on politicians — demonstrating to Members of Parliament that Canadians expect action now, not sometime down the road.
2. It provides political courage — petitions with thousands of signatures provide elected representatives with the support they need to present or sponsor reform bills.
3. It draws attention to the media — national dialogue is created in public petitions, keeping the victims' stories front and center.
4. It sparks a movement — one signature at a time, we build momentum to a collective moral call: no loophole in the law should ever ever take a life.
5. It honors those who have died — by standing together, their deaths will no longer be in vain but become the catalyst for change.

Together, We Can Save Lives

Every signature on this petition is a commitment: that we will no longer tolerate preventable deaths at the price of inaction. 

Let us seal those doors — forever. Sign today. Let your voice be heard for responsibility, for protection, and for life.