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Virtually every gun used in an American mass shooting is legally available for purchase in Canada. Despite this, Canada doesn’t come close to suffering the same rate of mass shootings as the United States.

Whenever Americans discuss gun control, it’s only natural that they look to the policies of their much less bullet-riddled northern neighbour. But even Canadian law can only do so much.

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Below, an analysis of just what Canadian firearms policies could have done to stop some of America’s worst mass shootings.

First, some basics

Nobody legally buys a gun in Canada without first taking the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. Then, they have to submit an application for a Possession and Acquistion Licence (PAL), where they’re screened by the RCMP for risk factors such as criminal history and mental health. All of the shootings in this list involve what Canada classifies as “restricted firearms”: Handguns and many types of semi-automatic rifles that can only be legally owned for the purposes of target shooting. With very few exceptions, private firearms are not sold as “weapons” in Canada. The only legal reason for owning a firearm in Canada is as a tool to kill animals or as a piece of sporting equipment to shoot paper targets. This is in sharp contrast to the United States, where gun ownership is closely correlated with self-defence.