Hunting and Fishing General Information for 2024
Hunting and Fishing Regulations Summaries
Printed copies of the 2024 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary have been provided to private licence issuers and participating ServiceOntario locations and are available online at www.ontario.ca/fishingregulations.
The 2024 Ontario Hunting Regulations Summaries will be sent to private licence issuers and participating ServiceOntario locations in April 2024 and will be available online at www.ontario.ca/huntingregulations.
2024 Licencing Prices
There were no price changes for 2024. For a full list of license prices please check online at www.ontario.ca/fishingregulations or www.ontario.ca/huntingregulations.
Outdoors Cards and Licences
The Outdoors Card is valid for three calendar years, expiring on December 31 of the third year after purchase. Annual fishing and hunting licences also expire on December 31 each year. Ontario residents have three options to renew their card and purchase their licences beginning the first Tuesday of December in each year for the coming years.
They can renew:
- by automated telephone by calling 1-800-288-1155
- by internet at: www.huntandfishontario.com
- or in person at licence issuers and participating ServiceOntario locations offering Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) services. A list of these issuers can be found at www.ontario.ca/page/hunting-and-fishing-licence-issuers or www.ontario.ca/locations/serviceontario .
- Outdoor Card and Licence Summary: Clients who renew their card and purchase fishing and/or small game licences in the same transaction can expect to receive their new plastic card, with licences imprinted on the back, in approximately 20 days. If the licences are printed on the back of the Outdoors Card clients are not required to carry their paper licence summary. Clients can access their accounts online and print a licence summary for immediate use any time.
- Clients with an existing Outdoors Card who purchase one-year licences (fishing, small game etc.), either online or at an issuer, will not receive anything by mail:
- Those who purchase their one-year licences online have the ability to print their own licence summary.
- Those who purchase at an issuer will be given a printed licence summary at the time of purchase.
Tip sheets for navigating the licensing service, setting up an account online and purchasing licences can be found on the Support and Resources page at huntandfishontario.com/Home/Events.
Dates and Big Game and Turkey Licences Sales go on sale for 2024
March 1 to July 2 – Antlerless Deer
April 1 to April 30 – Moose Primary Allocation
April 15 to June 10 – Elk
June 15 to July 8 – Moose Second/Chance Allocation
July 1 to July 31 – Controlled Deer
These draw deadlines are strictly enforced, and no exceptions are made.
Farmers and landowners who qualify to hunt in a controlled deer hunt season may apply online or in person at a private licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario location. They will be required to select the hunt code where their land is located and attest to their qualifications as a farmer/landowner.
Big Game Draw Results for 2024
Draw results will be available online at www.huntandfishontario.com or by calling the automated telephone service at 1-800-288-1155 starting on:
May 16 – Moose Primary Allocation
August 1 – Moose Second-Chance Allocation
August 1 – Elk
August 1 – Antlerless Deer
September 1 – Controlled Deer
Moose Tag Claiming Periods
Moose hunters that are successful in the allocation process and are claiming their tag must claim their tag during the claiming period.
To claim a tag, hunters must purchase their licence and their tag during the allocation claiming period in which they were awarded the tag.
May 16 to June 7 – Primary Allocation Claiming Period
August 1 to December 15 – Second-Chance Allocation Claiming Period
Tags not claimed during the Primary Allocation claiming period will be made available
for the Second Chance Allocation.
For more detailed information on the moose allocation process please visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/points-based-moose-tag-allocation-process.
Hunting Reporting
Hunters who fail to complete their mandatory hunter report will be subject to a $25 surcharge that will automatically be applied to the next draw application, licence or tag purchase for that species (generally in the following year). The $25 surcharge will be applied for each report that a hunter fails to submit.
If a hunter failed to submit a mandatory hunter report for the same species on two consecutive occasions, instead of the $25 penalty, they were prevented from purchasing any relevant product (for example, a draw or allocation application, licence, or tag) for that species for one year.
As hunters have responded exceptionally well to mandatory reporting requirements, the ministry is giving further thought to the penalty framework to consider whether there is an alternative that maintains high response rates while keeping hunters hunting.
For 2024, the ministry will pause the application of the ‘prevent from purchase’ clause in regulation. This will allow hunters who have failed to submit two consecutive mandatory reports to obtain licences and tags for this year’s hunting season, provided those hunters pay the $25 penalty fee.
The ministry will continue to monitor compliance requirements and outcomes throughout 2024 and consider longer-term options to the overall penalty approach to address non-compliance.
Hunters who fail to report or provide false or misleading information may also be subject to fines under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997.
Hunter reporting provides critical data to support wildlife management decisions such as harvest planning to set tag quotas and adjusting seasons and bag limits. Good quality hunter reporting information can lead to increased opportunities for hunters. For example, higher response rates and better-quality harvest information on wild turkeys since 2019 led to new fall turkey hunting seasons in seven wildlife management units for fall 2022.
The ministry appreciates the data provided by hunters through mandatory hunter reporting and has been working to share the results with hunters in a timely manner. This can help inform hunters’ plans for future seasons.
For more information on hunter reporting and to view results from previous years, please visit ontario.ca/hunterreporting.
Ontario Family Fishing Events
Ontario and Canadian residents are provided four opportunities throughout the year to fish without having to purchase a fishing licence. These dates include:
- Family Fishing Weekend (February 17–19, 2024)
- Mother’s Day Weekend (May 11–12, 2024)
- Father’s Day Weekend (June 15–16, 2024)
- Ontario Family Fishing Week (June 29–July 7, 2024)
Government issued identification is required, and anglers must follow conservation licence catch and possession limits.
Additional information is available at http://ontariofamilyfishing.com.
Fish and Wildlife on Social Media @FishWildlifeON
Are you following Ontario Fish and Wildlife yet? Our Fish and Wildlife social media channels are a quick and easy way to stay up to date on angling and hunting in Ontario. Our channels share hunting and fishing experiences from across the province, reminding anglers and hunters of important deadlines, sharing research projects and findings, are just a few of the ways we are using our channels as a communication tool. Follow us today and join in the fun.
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