Guess I should chime in here. A lot of Canadians have no problems with owning rifles and shotguns for hunting or even target shooting, but a lot have problems with handguns and don't see the need. Myself, I love them all and when I got my green card, one of the first things I did was buy my XD, and one of the next things I did was get my HCP. A couple of friends back home were a little shocked to learn that not only could I carry a handgun, I did regularly. It's just not part of the culture. When I first moved to TN I had no idea that an ordinary citizen could carry a gun...a very pleasant surprise.
The long gun registry has been a complete failure in every aspect. The biggest thing had to do with the cost. When the Liberal gov't put it in, they told the public it would cost 2 million dollars to implement. It ended up being 2 BILLION dollars. And all the guns were still not registered. I'm glad it will be gone. Now if they would just remove all the licencing required to buy a firearm and removed handguns as a restricted weapon. Sadly, I don't see that happening though.