Surge in young gun owners hitting voting age amid calls in firearm circles to loosen bans [Video]

Canadian-born Hashim Akbar first shot his grandfather’s gun as a child while visiting Pakistan.

“It was obviously scary. I was a small child, but it was also very exciting as well. There’s … a lot of adrenalin that goes through someone’s body,” said Akbar, 23, vice-president of the Simon Fraser Sports Shooting Club (SFSSC) in Burnaby, B.C.

As a teen, the university student tried and loved skeet shooting and now owns his own lever-action rifle. He applied for a gun licence last October, making him one of 7,446 Canadians under 30 to do so in 2024. But by the time he received the document, the guns he wanted were prohibited by the federal government.

Canada has banned more than 2,000 makes and models of firearms since 2020 in response to concerns from the public and advocates over domestic violence, violent street crime and high-profile tragedies, including the mass shooting in Nova Scotiain 2020 and …