By: Warren Gray
Copyright © 2022
“This contract will provide our troops with modern, reliable pistols
and holsters to carry out their work, while supporting economic
opportunities for the Canadian defence industry.”
— Helena Jaczek, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada, October 2022.
On Friday, October 7, 2022, the Canadian Department of National Defence officially announced an initial contract of U.S. $3.2 million to supply the Canadian Army with 7,000 brand-new, SIG Sauer P320 service handguns and holsters to replace their standard-issue, World War Two-era, Browning P35 Hi-Power pistols. In Canadian military service, they will be designated as the C22 pistol, distributed in-country by M.D. Charlton Co., Ltd., of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and chambered in 9x19mm.
An additional 9,500 service handguns will be available for the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Military Police, with the full value of the contract set at U.S. $7.6 million, if all options are included.
Canadian lieutenant firing the current-issue, P35 pistol in March 2022. Photo credit: Canadian Armed Forces.
The new, U.S.-designed, striker-fired, SIG Sauer P320 is lighter, more ergonomic, has fully-ambidextrous controls, and features an expanded magazine capacity of 17 rounds (for the full-size version), versus 13 rounds for the P35 handgun, and the weapon had been previously tested by the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2) elite, special operations and counterterrorist unit since 2019, with 400 samples procured.
On November 5, 2020, there was a very controversial misfire during a training exercise that injured a JTF 2 commando with a minor flesh wound in the leg, but a subsequent, seven-month investigation revealed in June 2021 that the misfire was due to “a partial depression of the trigger by a foreign object, combined with simultaneous movement of the slide…that then allowed a round to be fired whilst the pistol was still holstered,” and that the usage of a holster designed for a different pistol (an older SIG P226) was a contributing factor. The P320 handgun itself was not at fault, nor were there any issues with how it had been procured by Canadian defense officials.
JTF 2 commandos in action. Photo by The Toronto Star.
SIG Sauer issued the following statement on February 5, 2021: “An inaccurate and incomplete report of this incident was recently published in the Canadian media. The firearm involved has been extensively tested by SIG Sauer, and it has been determined to be safe. The investigation revealed the use of an incorrect holster not designed for a P320. The use of a modified, P226 holster created an unsafe condition by allowing a foreign object to enter the holster, causing the unintended discharge.
“The SIG Sauer P320 is among the most rigorously vetted pistols on the market. The P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. safety standards, and global military and law enforcement protocols…The P320 is one of the most innovative and sought-after pistols on the firearms market, and the pistol of choice for all branches of the United States Military (M17/M18), along with numerous law enforcement agencies and other military units worldwide.”
As a result of this incident, all Canadain P320s were temporarily withdrawn from service from November 2020 onward, until the investigation was completed. Some initial production models of the P320 were found to have a “drop-safety” problem if the weapon was dropped at a 33-degree angle, possibly due to trigger weight, but SIG Sauer has subsequently retrofitted all affected handguns, with “an alternate design that reduces the physical weight of the trigger, sear, and striker while additionally adding a mechanical disconnector,” and the pistol is now completely safe.
In fact, since November 17, 2017, the U.S. Armed Forces have been receiving new, SIG Sauer M17 (P320 full-size) and M18 (P320 compact) service pistols in 9x19mm, with a total of 421,000 to be procured, including 195,000 M17s and M18s for the Army, plus 130,000 M18s for the Air Force, 61,000 M18s for the Navy, and 35,000 M18s for the Marine Corps. The M17 and M18 have better accuracy, ergonomics, and tighter shot dispersion than the Beretta M9, and they will also be fielded more widely, being issued down to squad and fire team leaders, while Special Forces will dual-arm all of its members with a pistol and rifle. SIG Sauer also provides the M1152 Full Metal Jacket and M1153 Special Purpose (jacketed hollowpoint) ammunition for these weapons.
The P320 pistol is also replacing all Browning Hi-Powers in the Australian Defence Force this year, and is the standard, service handgun of the Danish Armed Forces, Spain’s elite, GOE special operations unit, the Costa Rican Public Force, the Mexican National Guard, and various police units in Bolivia, Brazil, France, Norway, Switzerland, and Thailand.
Here in the United States, it serves with the state police forces of Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia, and with various local police departments in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas (Dallas P.D.), Virginia, and Wisconsin. The P320 is also carried by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs security forces, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and U.S. National Park Service police, and by the Puerto Rican (U.S. territory) Police.
So, it’s hardly surprising that the three largest nations in the English-speaking world (the U.S., Australia, and Canada) have now officially adopted the excellent, SIG Sauer P320 handgun as their military service pistol. Canada and Australia have both been using the time-honored, combat-proven, Browning P35 Hi-Power until now, but it’s finally time to step forward into the 21st century, with the very modern SIG Sauer P320 design, a combat handgun for a new era, expected to enter active service in Canada by mid-2023.
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Warren Gray is a retired, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with experience in joint special operations and counterterrorism, and is an NRA member. He served in Europe and the Middle East, earned Air Force and Navy parachutist wings, four college degrees, and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Intelligence Operations Specialist Course, and the USAF Combat Targeting School. He has visited eastern Canada and the Canadian Rockies several times and is currently a published author, historian, and hunter. You may visit his website at: warrengray54.vistaprintdigital.com.