---
title: Prince Rupert fireworks rules
question: "Are fireworks allowed?"
place: Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/prince-rupert
category: Bylaws, noise and complaints
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Prince Rupert
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/fireworks/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/fireworks.json"
---

# Prince Rupert fireworks rules

**Question:** Are fireworks allowed?

**Short answer:** No. Prince Rupert's Fireworks Regulation Bylaw 2978 bans setting off fireworks anywhere in the City, on public or private property, and bans selling or giving them away. The only exception is a Council-approved permit for a special event or festival.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Prince Rupert, https://www.princerupert.ca)  
**Cost:** Permit fee $10. Municipal tickets (MTI Bylaw 2783): discharge $100, sell $100, manufacture $100, give to another person $50. Court: fine up to $2,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Fire Department, 250-624-5115

## Key facts

- **Setting off fireworks:** Not allowed for residents. No one may explode or discharge fireworks in the City, on public or private property, except under a permit that Council may authorize for an 'authorized person' for a special event or festival.
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 3.01, 5.01](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "no person shall explode or discharge fireworks in the City of Prince Rupert, whether on public or private property" … "the Council may authorize issuance of a permit to an authorized person"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Selling fireworks:** No. Selling or offering to sell fireworks, retail or wholesale, is prohibited, as is giving or disposing of them to another person. Manufacturing them is also prohibited.
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 2.01, 2.02, 4.01](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "No person shall sell or offer to sell, either by way of retail or wholesale," … "No person shall give or otherwise dispose of fireworks to another person"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **What counts as fireworks:** Firecrackers, cannon crackers, fireballs, mines, roman candles, sky rockets, squibs, torpedoes and all low- and high-hazard fireworks under the federal Explosives Regulations. Excludes sparklers, Christmas crackers and caps for toy guns.
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 1.01](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "excluding sparklers, Christmas crackers and caps for toy guns" … "firecrackers, cannon crackers, fireballs, mines, roman candles, sky rockets, squibs, torpedoes"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Permit:** Only an 'authorized person' (holder of a current Fireworks Supervisor Certificate from Energy Mines and Resources Canada; the City form also requires the applicant to be at least 18) can get one, for a special event or festival. Apply on the Fire Chief's form; Council approves; fee $10. Not transferable.
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 1.01, 5.01-5.06; application form](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "a person who has been issued with a current Fireworks Supervisor Certificate by Energy Mines and Resources Canada" … "The fee for every permit issued under this section shall be Ten Dollars" … "The applicant must be at least 18 years of age."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Fine:** Ticket: sell fireworks $100; give fireworks to another person $50; discharge fireworks $100; manufacture fireworks $100. Court: fine up to $2,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both.
  - Source: [Ticket Information Bylaw No. 2783 (consolidated to 2000), Schedule I](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/664)
  - Official wording: "Sell fireworks 2.01 $100.00" … "Give fireworks to another person 2.02 $50.00" … "Discharge fireworks 3.01 $100.00"
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 6.01](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "amaximum fine of not more than Two Thousand Dollars"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996
  - Source: [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996, s. 9.01](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)
  - Official wording: "FIREWORKS REGULATION BYLAW NO. 2978,1996"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Under [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw 2978](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625), no one may explode or discharge fireworks in Prince Rupert, on public or private property, except under a permit that Council may authorize for an "authorized person" for a special event or festival. Selling or offering to sell fireworks, retail or wholesale, is prohibited, as is giving or disposing of them to another person. Manufacturing them is also prohibited. No dates or hours, such as Halloween, are set in the bylaw.

"Fireworks" covers firecrackers, cannon crackers, fireballs, mines, roman candles, sky rockets, squibs, torpedoes and all low- and high-hazard fireworks under the federal Explosives Regulations. It excludes sparklers, Christmas crackers and caps for toy guns.

## Steps

1. Only an "authorized person" can get a permit: someone holding a current Fireworks Supervisor Certificate. The City's form also requires the applicant to be at least 18.
2. Apply on the Fire Chief's form and pay the $10 fee.
3. Council must approve the permit. It is not transferable.

## Good to know

- Tickets (municipal ticket, MTI Bylaw 2783): discharging fireworks $100, selling $100, manufacturing $100, giving fireworks to another person $50.
- A court can impose a fine up to $2,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both.
- The Fire Control and Protection Bylaw 3663 also adopts the provincial Fireworks Act.
- The bylaw is from 1996 and some references are dated, so confirm the permit steps with the Fire Department.

## Official forms and pages

- [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996 (PDF, includes the permit application)](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625)

## Related questions

- [Prince Rupert backyard fire and burning rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/backyard-fire.md)
- [Prince Rupert noise bylaw: quiet hours, construction hours and fines](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/noise-rules.md)
- [Prince Rupert bylaw fines and how tickets work](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/bylaw-fines.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Fireworks rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/fireworks.md)
- [Port Edward](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/fireworks.md)
- [Kitimat](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kitimat/fireworks.md)
- [Terrace](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/terrace/fireworks.md)
- [Telkwa](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/telkwa/fireworks.md)
- [Houston](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/houston/fireworks.md)
- [Fort St James](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/fort-st-james/fireworks.md)

## Sources

- [Fireworks Regulation Bylaw No. 2978, 1996 (PDF), City of Prince Rupert](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/625) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Fire Control and Protection Bylaw No. 3663, 2025 (PDF), City of Prince Rupert](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/2153) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Ticket Information Bylaw No. 2783 (consolidated to 2000) (PDF), City of Prince Rupert](https://www.princerupert.ca/media/664) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Prince Rupert. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/fireworks/_