To our Canadian gun Bros

I have traveled across Canada several times, from Niagara falls to Beaver creek Yukon. I always got the impression people in the West[Alberta, BC, Yukon] were VERY pro gun, in the East[Ontario, Quebec] they think they are the tools of the devil. Am I just imagining this, or is the country really that split?

In general, I think you're probably right, but this probably comes down to more of an urban/rural split than anything else; in the vast majority of the west, even if you personally don't own a gun, it's almost certain that someone else in your family does, so you'll know that owning a gun doesn't make you a crazed killer. In most of the urban east, there are families of people who have gone for generations never geting closer to an actual GUN (gasp!) than the crap they read in the newspapers or see on the TV or in the movies.

Yes the urban-rural mindset is no doubt true-in the east most of the voters[and therefore the politicians] are from the city's and have no clue of real life.
Unfortunately for the folks in BC and elsewhere, the laws come from Ottawa.
From a strictly personal in my experience point of view, the pro gun people are friendlier and more likely [happy to actually] to help a stranger then the prim and proper anti gunners.
Hmm.

Atlantic Canadians are generally more rational than Ontario/Quebec when it comes to guns.
Please don't lump Ont/QC in with us, we are the real easterners, ;)
Ontario/Quebec is more in the geographical middle, lol.
Lots of hunters/shooters here in Atlantic Canada.
And at least in Newfoundland almost non-existent gun-crime and one of the (per capita) highest ownership of non-restricted and restricted firearms in Canada.

I think it's the urban/rural split at work. Atlantic Canada isn't as urbanized, so there is more socilization of firearm ownership. A measure of urbanization might be - how long (elapsed driving time) would you have to drive from the center of your city/town/homestead before you could walk into woods that were not a park?

I'm pretty sure it has more to do with the areas the Liberals and NDP have a political hold.

Thomas oliver-first post in 3 years? I must have hit a nerve. I apologize to you and Rodregier-I have never been East of Toronto.

Another Atlantic Canadian here.... As others have said, it's largely a rural/big city sort of split. Once you're out of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver etc., firearms are quite well accepted, a fixture in most home's rec room walls. It's fairly understandable, really. Live in a rural area, each year you hear of your buddys hunting exploits. That's what you know of guns.

Live in Toronto, and you hear of the weekly random shooting. You know noone who hunts. Guns are "evil"....

J

What would make them any different than the same geographics in the US?

I doubt it is much different, demographically, than the US, except that Canadian law makes ownership of handguns more restricted, and defensive use of handguns is generally a no-no under Canadian law. As a result, virtually the only condonned use of firearms in Canada is for target shooting or hunting/wilderness protection.

As a result of this, urban Canadians are exposed to NO positive firearms experiences, unless they happen to target shoot or hunt. Very few urban Canadians do so.

In the US, even the urban dwellers can have positive firearm experiences beyond target matches and hunting. SD weapons carry, courses, etc. Very different gun culture.

I'd bet that rural US citizens are far and away more supportive of RTKBA than are their urban counterparts too.

J

Yeah I would say it is more of an urban/rural split. Although I can't speak for the east of canada I can say that most of B.C. and Alberta are very pro gun.

Depends where you live, I'm from the Northern end of Vancouver Island, BC, and yes that is somewhat in the sticks, most people do not seem to have a problem with firearms up there.

Further South in the city of Victoria, most people are of the "What For?" category.

I think the urban/rural divide is also what is plaguing Europe. Most of Europe has not been rural for decades or centuries. The last of the gun friendly regions, like Switzerland, are even beginning to falter.

Maybe people in big cities don't need guns because bad things don't happen in crowded urban areas. :rolleyes: