How many people in Canada legally own firearms?
According to the United Nations, Canada ranks third among the developed western coutries (behind the US and Norway) in civilian ownership of firearms.[40] A 1992 survey sponsored by the UN reported that 26% of Canadians, over 7,000,000 people, own firearms.[41] A 1991 Justice Department telephone survey indicated there were an average of 2.67 firearms in one of every four Canadian Households, with 71% having access to a rifle, 64% to a shotgun, and 12% to a handgun. They calculated that there are over six million legally owned firearms in Canada. Other authorities insist that this estimate is much too low and that there are at least 20,000,000 rifles and shotguns in Canada; as many, per capita, as in the United States. [1] Past government surveys of much larger populations showed there were at least 15,000,000 legal firearms back in the 1970s.[39] The government’s own estimate in Dec. 1976, published as part of its gun control campaign, was 6,000,000 owners with 18,000,000 firearms. Du
