Canada Concealed carry

N

Na7h4n

Joined
Jul 27, 2017
Messages
3
I have just a small 2 inch blade pocket knife. Say i'm walking through the mall, for some reason a cops searches me and finds the blade. I just feel naked without a knife and don't really have a excuse. Would saying that i am making a stop here then going to get a package cut it? as well saying that i need it cut fruit wouldn't make sense in the situation. Any other reasons for having it that would make sense. I would appreciate your feedback
 
OK, here is what I think I know about Canadian knife laws.

Basically you can carry whatever you want, size, concealed, style, as long as it isn't a switchblade or auto knife. There are also specific models of knives that are prohibited.

What makes a knife illegal, outside of the above restrictions, is your intended use. In Canada you are not allowed to have anything that is intended to be used for offense or defense. A knife can only be carried with the intent to use it as a tool. You can call a pen a weapon and then be charged for carrying a weapon dangerous to the public, or something like that.

In Canada if a police officer ever stops you answer these questions this way:

Do you have any weapons? No, I do not have any weapons.
Do you have anything sharp in your pockets that I need to be aware of when I search you? Yes, I have a knife.
Why do you have a knife? I use my knife to cut apples, boxes, things like that.

Never admit, even if it is your intent, that you are carrying a knife for self defense. This is never permitted in Canada.

These are my basic understandings of Canadian knife laws as a Canadian citizen.
 
Take a look under the knife law and the Canada subforums as there is a bunch of info already there. But in short, depends on what city, what province, the officer (RCMP vs local for example) type of knife, and what the probable cause for the search was. In general if its a SAK, then general utility is a valid reason, cutting food or opening packages is as well. You don't necessarily need to tell the officer what package you intend to open, so long as you are not carrying knife that looks like you were planning on using for self defense, or you are silly enough to say such out loud. Remember that local laws can still trump federal if the bylaw makes it illegal to carry any knife in a public meeting place, or public transit. If you want to have a general utility knife just to have one on you, then get a Vic tinker and don't worry about it. If you have a specific knife in mind, then just keep it reasonable. To be honest, location, your age, dress, race/gender and attitude are probably bigger factors than what the knife is, so those might play a part. At the end of the day, its hard to say since it is such a situational thing. Lastly, I will say that letting a cop "find" a knife is generally a bad idea, when they begin a search they should say something like "is there anything I should know?" at that point your best bet is a pocket dump and be up front about it.
 
Aldebaran said:
OK, here is what I think I know about Canadian knife laws.

Basically you can carry whatever you want, size, concealed, style, as long as it isn't a switchblade or auto knife. There are also specific models of knives that are prohibited.

What makes a knife illegal, outside of the above restrictions, is your intended use. In Canada you are not allowed to have anything that is intended to be used for offense or defense. A knife can only be carried with the intent to use it as a tool. You can call a pen a weapon and then be charged for carrying a weapon dangerous to the public, or something like that.

In Canada if a police officer ever stops you answer these questions this way:

Do you have any weapons? No, I do not have any weapons.
Do you have anything sharp in your pockets that I need to be aware of when I search you? Yes, I have a knife.
Why do you have a knife? I use my knife to cut apples, boxes, things like that.

Never admit, even if it is your intent, that you are carrying a knife for self defense. This is never permitted in Canada.

These are my basic understandings of Canadian knife laws as a Canadian citizen.
Click to expand...
So does the response matter weather your place or not? If I don't have a fruit on me or there is no post office nearby. So it is just to declare the use of the tool not why you have it at the moment?
 
gadgetgeek said:
Take a look under the knife law and the Canada subforums as there is a bunch of info already there. But in short, depends on what city, what province, the officer (RCMP vs local for example) type of knife, and what the probable cause for the search was. In general if its a SAK, then general utility is a valid reason, cutting food or opening packages is as well. You don't necessarily need to tell the officer what package you intend to open, so long as you are not carrying knife that looks like you were planning on using for self defense, or you are silly enough to say such out loud. Remember that local laws can still trump federal if the bylaw makes it illegal to carry any knife in a public meeting place, or public transit. If you want to have a general utility knife just to have one on you, then get a Vic tinker and don't worry about it. If you have a specific knife in mind, then just keep it reasonable. To be honest, location, your age, dress, race/gender and attitude are probably bigger factors than what the knife is, so those might play a part. At the end of the day, its hard to say since it is such a situational thing. Lastly, I will say that letting a cop "find" a knife is generally a bad idea, when they begin a search they should say something like "is there anything I should know?" at that point your best bet is a pocket dump and be up front about it.
Click to expand...
Sorry for not explaining the finding factor and I know what you mean. I am pretty young to be having a knife but there are no laws in canada about an age. The knife I was talking about was the Kershaw Shuffle. In my opinion it doesn't look intimidating. Aswell it does not open by clicking your wrist or by pushing a button(which is illegal to carry)( not 100% sure on that but I saw it on other threads.
 
The big difference between Canada and the United States is that, in Canada, a Policeman can only bodily search you as part of the investigation of a pre-existing crime.

If he wants to bodily search you, he has to state to what crime the search is related to, and why searching you is relevant to that particular crime. He also has to be involved in the process of investigating that crime at that moment.

This basically means you cannot be bodily searched without your permission (except maybe in metal detecting contexts, but even then you will be just expelled if you refuse a body search): A good reason to love Canada...

If for some reason he knows you have a knife, always say it is for utility, with a list of plausible tasks. Never, ever mention self defense or "because it's late and dark"...

Gaston
 
I carried a 3.5" folder clipped to my pocket every day for the 6 years I lived in Montreal. In the metro, the hospitals I worked in, on the university campus, etc. etc. Never had any issues. I used it constantly. No one seemed to care at all.
 
Na7h4n said:
So does the response matter weather your place or not? If I don't have a fruit on me or there is no post office nearby. So it is just to declare the use of the tool not why you have it at the moment?
Click to expand...

Well you can't say you have a knife to skin seals when you are in Toronto. Use a reason that matches your situation.
 
Na7h4n said:
So does the response matter weather your place or not? If I don't have a fruit on me or there is no post office nearby. So it is just to declare the use of the tool not why you have it at the moment?
Click to expand...
The point is: just don't be stupid.

If an officier stops you for some reason, discovers your knife, and asks why you have it...don't tell them "I carry it for self-defense" or something ridiculous like that. You're basically telling them it's a weapon at that point.

Tell them what happens to be the truth for 99.999% of the world's population: you use your knife for normal, everyday tasks. It's for opening your mail, cutting down cardboard boxes for recycling, slicing into packages of beef jerky, prying the lids off of paint cans, sharpening pencils, etc. etc. etc.
 
To answer your question, unless you are like 12-14, a kershaw shuffle should be fine, and yeah, no need to carry an apple everywhere you go, Cops tend to have, or at least think they have a good BS detector, so just be confident that it's for utility. You'll be fine. But yes, check your local bylaws and provincial law, just so you know you are clear. Those should be easy to find on the city website. For example, there are times and places in calgary where carry of a knife is not allowed. I never had a problem, but in those cases where it might have been a problem, I was working, which is a great lawful excuse.
 
If you are young - LEOs will smell your insecurity and will try to pressure/intimidate you. Never say that the knife is for self defence/offence as mentioned above. Tell them that you carry the knife every day for utility purposes if asked.
They also can not search you without a plausible cause (as mentioned already) but they can ask you to show them what is in your pockets. You can refuse, but this can lead to more intimidation and possible arrest on some stupid grounds - especially if you are young.
In this case be smart. Empty your pockets of all big items. If you have any drugs on you, obviously don't get them out. A knife will be quite visiable, so take it out. And then go to step 1 if asked abt the reason.
 
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