Coyote hunting regulations by province

Night hunting and e-calls, all 13 compared

Every row is read from the jurisdiction's own page, so this table and a province page cannot disagree. Where a verdict needs a condition attached — and several do — the province page carries it.

Two patterns come straight off that table, and both are worth knowing before you plan anything.

Night hunting is closed in 10 of the 11 jurisdictions that have a coyote season at all. Newfoundland and Labrador is the single exception, and it is a restriction rather than an opening. The thermal-and-light approach that defines predator hunting in Nevada or Texas is essentially unavailable in Canada — and in British Columbia merely possessing infrared optics on a hunting expedition is an offence. If night work is the trip, it is a US trip.

Electronic calls run the other way — legal in 10 of 11. That is more permissive than most US states, and it is often buried in an exception rather than stated plainly: several provinces prohibit recorded calls for wildlife generally and then name the coyote among the species they are allowed for. Yukon is the one jurisdiction that simply never addresses it, and its page says so rather than guessing.

Hunting coyotes in Canada

Coyotes are in every province, and in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. They expanded north and east across the twentieth century the same way they expanded across North America generally — reaching Prince Edward Island in 1983 and Newfoundland in the 1980s. The country is enormous, the ground is largely unpressured by American standards, and almost nobody writes about calling predators up here in English with the regulations attached.

The classification is the thing that changes most between jurisdictions, and it decides everything downstream. In Yukon the coyote is big game, with the licensing and reporting that implies. In Alberta and Saskatchewan it may be hunted year-round. In the Northwest Territories there is no coyote season for any licensed hunter at all — the harvest is a trapping regime — and in Nunavut there is no established population to hunt. Three of the thirteen answer "no" to the question the other ten answer with a date.

For a hunter crossing from the United States there is a second layer, and it catches people out because two governments regulate the trip and they regulate different halves of it. The province decides the season, the licence, the bag limit and whether you may hunt at night or use a call. Ottawa decides what firearm you may bring, what magazine may be in it, and whether you are allowed into the country at all. The questions below cover Ottawa's half.

Questions Americans ask about hunting in Canada

These are federal and apply the same way in every province, which is why they live here rather than on thirteen separate pages. Anything the province decides for itself is on the province's own page.

Can an American hunt coyotes in Canada?

Yes. First, a word you will meet on every Canadian licence page: a hunter from the United States is a non-resident alien. "Non-resident" on its own means a Canadian from another province, and the two are charged different fees and held to different rules — so read for the word "alien" and price from that line. You need a hunting licence from each province or territory you intend to hunt in, and you must declare any firearm at the border. Whether you can hunt unguided depends on the province: British Columbia lets a non-resident alien hunt small game unaccompanied, but only on an unrestricted licence that requires proof of hunter safety training. Alberta requires a designated guide or a hunter host to hunt coyote at all. Check the province page before you book anything.

Can I bring my rifle into Canada for a hunt?

Yes, with paperwork. You complete form RCMP 5589, the Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, and pay a CAN$25 fee. Once a border services officer confirms it, it works as a temporary firearms licence for up to 60 days, and the single fee covers every firearm on the form. You must be at least 18. Only non-restricted firearms may be used for hunting.

What happens if I do not declare a firearm at the Canadian border?

Do not risk it. Failing to declare can mean border delays, monetary penalties, criminal charges, seizure of the firearm, and being barred from returning to Canada. Declare everything, including anything you think might not count.

Can I bring a suppressor to Canada?

No. Suppressors are prohibited devices under federal Canadian law. This is not a provincial decision and no provincial hunting licence changes it. Leave it at home — bringing one across is a criminal matter, not a paperwork problem.

Can I bring an AR-15, and what about magazine capacity?

Magazine limits are federal and they turn on what the magazine was designed for, not what you put it in. A magazine designed for a semi-automatic centre-fire long gun is capped at five cartridges. A magazine for a manually operated centre-fire rifle — bolt, lever or pump — has no capacity limit, and neither does a semi-automatic rim-fire magazine. Separately, many semi-automatic rifles are prohibited or restricted in Canada outright, and only non-restricted firearms may be used for hunting. A bolt gun avoids the whole question.

Can a DUI stop me at the Canadian border?

Yes, and this is the single most common reason an American hunter gets turned around. Canada treats impaired driving as serious criminality for convictions from 18 December 2018 onward, which closes off the deemed-rehabilitation route that used to apply automatically after ten years. Options such as individual rehabilitation or a temporary resident permit exist but take time and paperwork. If you have any conviction in your past, sort it out months before the trip, not at the booth.

Is night hunting legal for coyotes in Canada?

No, almost everywhere. Of the 11 provinces and territories that have a coyote season at all, 10 close night hunting outright. The single exception is Newfoundland and Labrador, and even there it is a restriction rather than an opening. Several provinces go further than a simple curfew: British Columbia bans artificial light outright and makes it an offence to so much as possess infrared optics on a hunting expedition. A hunter used to running thermal in Nevada or Texas has to leave that whole approach behind. The table above gives every jurisdiction.

Are electronic calls legal in Canada?

Usually yes — legal in 10 of the 11 jurisdictions with a season, which is more permissive than much of the United States. The catch is that the permission is often buried in an exception rather than stated plainly: a province will prohibit recorded and electronic calls for hunting wildlife generally, then name wolf, coyote, cougar, lynx and bobcat as exceptions. Read the whole sentence before deciding. Yukon is the one jurisdiction whose regulations never address calls at all, and its page says so rather than guessing.

None of this is legal advice, and border and firearms rules change. Confirm current requirements with the Canada Border Services Agency for what you may bring, the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program for the firearm declaration, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada if you have any conviction in your past — that last one is the question most likely to end a trip, and it needs months of lead time, not days. For anything a province decides, the agency is named on the province's own page.