New data from the federal government's own parliamentary response (Q-1113, June 10, 2026) reveals something worth sitting with: nearly 1 in 5 firearms declared under Canada's assault-style compensation program are chambered in .22 Long Rifle.
That's 11,655 firearms across 24 distinct models.
The .22LR is the world's most common sporting cartridge. It's what most Canadians learn to shoot on. Farmers use it for pest control. Kids are taught to shoot with it. It is, by any measure, among the least powerful cartridges in common civilian use. A typical squirrel hunter considers it modest.
The most-declared model in the entire program is the German Sport Guns GSG-16, with 4,788 units declared. Before the May 2020 Order in Council, it was non-restricted, meaning the federal government itself did not consider it dangerous enough to require registration, a background check for transfer, or any of the safeguards that apply to restricted firearms.
It was prohibited because it looks 'scary'.
The same is true of the GSG StG44 and GSG MP40, both Second World War-era replicas in .22LR. They are on the prohibited list. They are also, functionally, plinking rifles.
Most of the 24 .22LR models on this list were formerly non-restricted. The government's own pre-2020 classification system placed them in the same category as what the average person would consider to be 'hunting rifles and shotguns'. The 2020 OIC moved them to prohibited based on appearance and design features, not ballistic capability or any documented role in violent crime.
The program has now received 67,000 declarations against a government target of 152,000. Of those, nearly one in five are firearms that fire a cartridge your grandfather used to shoot tin cans with and probably taught their grandchildren to do the same.