My stepdad was from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and i've driven from Regina (capital of the province) to the bottom of the NW Territories, and then back down. It isn't a bad place. People are (stereotypically) nice great people, who live on the farm or in small cities (compared to what i'm used to...) and own guns. Guns guns guns.
The canadians i've had a pleasure of talking to, have the same idea I have... rifles and shotguns are for hunting and protection... every family has at least one, and criminals know this. However, what i've seen, there wasn't to many handguns... although, Saskatchewan is like Kansas in a way... one city surrounded by an entire state of farms.