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Beiruty wrote:

Interblog wrote:...
Not true. Handguns are restricted not illegal.
If it is legal in Canada you can import it when you cross the border. Now, for a vistor the most likely reason to import a gun is for sporting purpose (sport shooting/hunting). I have no clue what is needed to temp import your firearms.

SBR are legal in Canada and classified as restricted.
Subcompact and pocket handguns are illegal in Canada.

Sorry - I wasn't sufficiently precise in my speech. Smaller pieces are effectively illegal in my implied context, which is personal self-defense as a visitor to Canada.

It's a tricky subject in Canada, given that self-defense is so strictly regulated and limited. For instance, pepper spray is also not legal to possess in a self-defense context if one's intention is to defend against human beings. But it IS legal in defense against wildlife, which of course Canada has in abundance, to the point where personal safety is a real concern.

So when I got to the border last year, I was asked about pepper spray, and I replied, "Yes, I do have one in my possession, and it's the brand that has the bear's picture on the front of the container, which is legal here - I verified that in advance."

That response was correct. The agent didn't even ask to inspect the pepper spray. Having a depiction of wildlife printed on the product makes it acceptable in the Canadian legal context. At least it does for the moment.

Arrrrghhhh. That article I linked above was published in the Toronto Star, Canada's largest-circulation newspaper, which should have relatively high accuracy standards where reporting is concerned. But what they stated in that article was completely false, according to the border agent with whom I just spoke by phone. Fake news comes in an increasing number of diverse forms, it appears.

The agent told me that Houlton Station will not hold American handguns under any circumstances, and that she is not aware of any other Canadian border port that would do so.

Rather than bank box or gunsmith, she told me that my first point of inquiry ought to be with the local law enforcement jurisdiction on the American side (which in their case it would be the Town of Houlton Police Department), because THEY will often agree to hold guns for people crossing the border. Or, if for some reason they couldn't do that, they would be a good point of contact to find out alternate means of securing the guns on the American side in their immediate area.

It sounded from her tone of voice like she had answered this question before, so hopefully this suggestion of hers is not wishful thinking that materialized in a baseless manner from thin air. But these days, you never know.

Myself, if I decided to try this, I wouldn't actually inquire with the local police until I was quite close to my departure date, just in case the policy changes in the intervening time, as it often does.

That declaration is only for legal guns. Handguns are not legal to possess in Canada, with very few exceptions (none of which apply to visitors, as far as I know).

timdsmith72 wrote:Quite a few years ago...... At the border, I declared that I had a handgun and they had me fill out a form or two then they locked it up in a safe or somethingorother. Then when we crossed back over into the U.S.A. we made sure to cross at the same place. Showed proper ID, (driver's license) and signed for the pistol and were on our way. I guess that could still be an option if you're planning on crossing in the same place both times. Unless the laws have changed, of course.
...

I am hoping to resurrect this thread because it was last active some years back, and because I am wondering if anyone on this forum has actually gone through this procedure of declaring and leaving their gun at the border and picking it up upon their return, as the poster above describes.

This procedure is still widely referenced; e.g., in this 2017 news clip, which states "...many don’t realize they can legally declare firearms and leave them behind as they enter the country."

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/201 ... uency.html

Does it work in practice as well as in theory? Any lessons learned? Does it draw undue attention to the person making the declaration, for instance? Trigger extra searches or scrutiny or whatever?

There are important logistical questions for which I don't currently have answers. For instance, many border crossings have what I call "double chutes" - entirely separated lanes for entry into Canada and exit from Canada. So what happens is that the owner would leave a gun in a different physical location than (s)he would be driving through in order to get home. At some point, the owner would need to stop at the drop-off location, re-acquire their gun, and proceed from there to the U.S. port of entry. At the border crossing with which I am most familiar (Houlton ME), this would obligate a short transit (about 1,000 feet) across Canadian soil with a handgun in possession which, on its face, would be a violation of Canadian law (unless there is a superseding provision that I don't know about). Other crossings have even more widely separated and intentionally-isolated border control facilities, so that pick-up would be even more challenging. Hence, my question - does anyone actually do this kind of thing in practice, and if so, how does the procedure actually take place, step by step?

Thanks.