Kalashnikov USA AK family (and AK-pattern variants generally)
The AK family was one of the original SOR/2020-96 pattern bans. Commercial civilian AK-pattern rifles were prohibited in May 2020.
Is the Kalashnikov USA AK family (and AK-pattern variants generally) banned in Canada? Yes. The Kalashnikov USA AK family (and AK-pattern variants generally) is prohibited in Canada. It was named in SOR/2020-96 (May 2020). If you owned one before the deadline, confirm whether it appears on the federal Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program list. The current amnesty for prohibited firearms expires 90 days after the latest Supreme Court appeal termination under SOR/2026-114.
Classification: Prohibited · OIC/SOR: SOR/2020-96 · Ban-Risk: Already Gone · Compensation: Confirm federal list · Amnesty: SCC appeals + 90 days
Verdict
The AK pattern is the family SOR/2020-96 named most expansively on May 1, 2020 — not a specific rifle but the entire mechanical pattern, every commercial civilian variant from Saiga to Arsenal to Century Arms to Kalashnikov USA to IO Inc., every chambering from 7.62×39mm to 5.45×39mm to .223 Rem export. The AK is the rubric's reference case for what "named by family" means at its most expansive. The DDM4 V7 entry (Batch 1) carries the same pattern for the AR-15 family; this entry is the same for the AK family. Both anchor the original-nine-families structure of the May 2020 OIC. Together they represent the largest single removal of named civilian rifles from the Canadian market in one Order in Council — every AR-pattern variant and every AK-pattern variant prohibited together in a single regulatory sweep.
Tracking a rifle on this list?
The Ban-Risk Index updates as classifications and the federal compensation list change. Get those changes, and the SCC + 90-day amnesty deadline reminders, in The Dispatch.
Lineage
Parents: Mikhail Kalashnikov original AK-47 design (1947, Soviet military, never civilian-legal as the original select-fire)
Siblings: AKM (modernized 1959), AK-74 (5.45×39mm 1974), Saiga sport export variants, all civilian semi-auto AK-pattern rifles
Derived: Every commercial AK-pattern rifle on the Canadian market through April 2020
Primary sources for this entry
- Canada Gazette — SOR/2020-96 — Canada Gazette. accessed 2020-05-01
- Kalashnikov USA — product catalogue — Manufacturer. accessed 2026-05-27
Safety note: the Ban-Risk Index is editorial estimation, not legal advice or a substitute for current official guidance. The classification field reflects current RCMP FRT status as of the last-scored date. For any transfer, surrender, deactivation, or transport question, consult primary RCMP / Public Safety Canada sources and, where appropriate, a Canadian firearms lawyer.
