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> A number of illegal weapons...were seized in a blockade in Alberta.

> https://globalnews.ca/news/8618494/alberta-coutts-border-pro...

Your link doesn't describe anything as "illegal weapons." It just says "long guns" and "handguns" which are both pretty broad terms that undoubtedly encompass guns that are legal in Canada.

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Most hand guns are prohibited[0] weapons in Canada. You need explicit authorization to transport [2] prohibited weapons. There are pretty strict rules[3] for how they're to be transported, too. You're not just allowed to drive around with handguns rattling around in the car, this isn't the US. Large capacity magazines are illegal in almost all cases [1]. Even that machete might be illegal given the context [4].

[0] https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/classes-firearms

[1] https://www.grc-rcmp.gc.ca/en/firearms/maximum-permitted-mag...

[2] https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/authorization-transpo...

[3] https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/storing-transporting-...

[4] https://cubetoronto.com/canada/are-machetes-illegal-in-canad...

A machete may be considered a weapon in certain contexts, but that's not a unique law. The US also reclassifies things as weapons once they are used as weapons (in that instance.) Attack someone with a machete and it suddenly becomes a deadly weapon.

Canada bans a lot of weapons for looking "scary" -- nunchuks and butterfly knives for example (both of which are rather notoriously more dangerous to the person wielding them than anybody else). Americans who come to Canada are frequently surprised by the different laws up here. Yes, an attack with a machete renders it illegal in both countries. A concealed machete is illegal in Canada, regardless of intent or use. I'm not so sure about the US (especially with the variance among state laws)

A lot of states ban nunchucks (sometimes as "ninja weapons") and butterfly knives. It's highly variable throughout the US.

By definition a handgun not in storage or in transport to a shooting range is an illegal weapon in Canada.

Handguns require a license to transport (ATT). Even if they were acquired legally (and that's a very big if because of RPAL), their presence at the border is very illegal.

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