Indeed. And they also have comparatively high rates of firearms ownership per capita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_c...). Hunting and protection from wild animals probably factor in to that.

Hunting yes.

Protection from wild animals? Contrary to popular belief, we don't all have polar bears in our yard.

We had a coyote on our street last year, but nobody felt threatened enough to pull out a gun.

> Protection from wild animals? Contrary to popular belief, we don't all have polar bears in our yard. > We had a coyote on our street last year, but nobody felt threatened enough to pull out a gun.

I didn't mean to suggest that everyone should carry a firearm because of this. I've hiked in areas with brown bears, regularly go into areas with black bear/mountain lion/wolves, and often encounter/hear coyotes at my house. I personally do not feel the need to carry a firearm because of this, but I can understand why others may. It depends upon you tolerance for risk. For some, the small chance of a dangerous encounter justifies their need to carry a firearm. I think it would be disingenuous to suggest that firearms are totally useless for that purpose

The RCMP even have a website about it... http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/wild-sauvage-eng.ht...