Bugger;
Top of the morning to you sir and thanks for the reply.
For sure the criminal activity is mostly centered in the larger urban centers here of Toronto, Vancouver and to a lesser degree Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Regina.
Regarding the unlawful firearm industry, there's a fair bit that I've been made aware of by friends in LE which they know is happening but it goes unreported by any of the legacy media for a plethora of reasons.
At one point in time it seems that the source of the firearms were former communist countries and now at least the handguns are coming primarily from south of the Medicine Line, but as with anything, if there are buyers, sellers will appear and sell what is being sought.
In Anteloper's reply, he mentioned moving south ourselves and we did look at that years back, but at that time we didn't fit the profile of desired immigrants or have the financial wherewithal then, so that as they say - was that. We've known more than a double handful of Canadians who have moved their businesses and themselves away, primarily to the US but some into various South and Central American nations as well.
Where I'm at currently in my beliefs is that I was given a huge legacy by my grandparents first who were refugees from eastern Europe, then by parents who survived the Great Depression, WWII and all the subsequent ups and downs after it. Thus I'm not even close to prepared to hand it over to any group who will - in my opinion - ruin a once great nation and crush the opportunities for our kids and their kids after that.
On the plus side we've seen some very effective firearms rights groups emerging that weren't here previous to this. While there are still some of my generation - boomer here - that remain stuck in the sort of "Fudd" mind set that the Laurentian Elite aren't coming for their side by side shotgun so it's all good, I'm seeing less of that every week.
Interestingly as well, I've had several conversations with younger folks who've indicated they're going to be getting into firearms for the simple reason that the government appears to want them not to.....
As you might imagine, it's not uncommon for some of my younger friends to introduce me to their friends as in "This is Dwayne my gun guy friend".
Anyways sir, it's not rosy by any stretch up here but I do see more people waking up to both the firearm issue for sure but the government overreach and intentional lies as well.
History will judge whether or not there's enough of us and whether we're on time to change the tide or not.
We'll see.
All the best to you all down south as we head into the warm part of the year.
Dwayne