Canada Gun Imports Plunge in 2023 After Liberals Criminalize Handgun Buying

(Update February 08: Corrects import value, adds data tables and context.)

TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s gun imports plunged in 2023 after the governing Liberal Party shut down the legal handgun market.

Gun Import Value: -13%. The value of inbound firearms fell 13% to $207.7 million from a record of $238.4 million in 2022. It was the steepest percentage drop in seven years.
Gun Import Quantity: -22%. The number of firearms that entered Canada sank 22% to 387,662 from 496,195, with rifles, shotguns and handguns all slumping.
Source: Statistics Canada published the data today.

Why It Matters

Last year marked the fourth consecutive year of turbulence for gun companies fighting to save their businesses from Liberal prohibitionists and confiscators. Several stores closed.
The Liberal crackdown on handgunners since October 2022 destroyed a fifth of the firearm market and wiped out billions of dollars in personal and family wealth tied to pistols and revolvers.
Gun imports trended up in the first half of 2023, then declined in the second half. December sank to the lowest monthly level in six years, suggesting gun stores expect sales to slow.
Canada’s gun culture continued to defy the Liberal attacks: The number of new firearm-licence holders surged to a record last year.

Almost every gun in Canada is imported.
Import statistics are one of the only publicly available economic indicators of the firearm industry.
They indirectly reveal long-term trends, not the current market.
Important Context: Reference: Canada Gun Imports

When the Liberals killed the legal market for personal handguns, they didn’t target government agencies such as the military and police, and they exempted 8,000 Olympics-affiliated competitors and coaches, plus 6,000 security guards.
Today’s import data shows almost all of the 27,251 handguns imported last year came from New Hampshire, the home of SIG Sauer, and Georgia, the U.S. base for Glock.
That suggests the handguns were primarily the SIG Sauer P320 models for the military, and Glocks for police and public agencies.

Over $200 Million. Total gun imports surpassed $200 in value for only the second time on record.
1,000+ Guns Per Day. Imports averaged 1,062 guns per day in 2023, down from 1,359 per day in 2022.

Ammo: +36% to $275.6 million, exceeding gun imports and soaring to a record.

Total Imports: +22% to $536.4 million.
- Record High. Total rises to record exceeding $500 million in import value for first time, led by ammo.

Inflation Effect: Price inflation is part of why import values can rise while quantities shrink.

Firearm Type	2022	2023	% Change
Rifles	$124.1	$134.5	+8.3%
Shotguns	$60.5	$58.1	-3.8%
Handguns	$51.4	$13.2	-74.3%
Muzzle Loaders	$2.4	$1.8	-23.7%
Total	$238.4	$207.7	-12.9%

Firearm Type	2022	2023	% Change
Rifles	238,898	231,652	-3.0%
Shotguns	159,146	124,332	-21.9%
Handguns	90,628	27,251	-69.9%
Muzzle Loaders	7,523	4,427	-41.2%
Total	496,195	387,662	-21.9%

Below are the same interactive charts as at Canada Gun Facts and Stats.

Correction