The great divide between urban and rural views on gun control in Canada and Alberta remains as wide as ever.
And with the federal government looking closely at possible changes to Canada's gun laws in 2018, the stage is set for the firearms debate to once again become a major political battleground.
Whether the debate will degenerate into a bitter and divisive fight like that seen around the national firearms registry years ago remains to be seen.
What is known is that with the majority of voters in Canada now living in urban centres, rural residents opposed to tighter gun control may be in for a tough fight.
According to a recent Ekos Research Associates poll, 69 per cent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, “I think that there should be a strict ban on guns in urban areas.”
Support for the statement was by far the lowest in Alberta, with only 48 per cent of respondents in agreement. In Quebec, support was highest, at 76 per cent.
The federal government is working on changes to Canada's gun laws, changes that could include new restrictions on various types of firearms and the possession of same.
“It's an important topic and efforts in the past in dealing with a topic that has the potential to, in some places, be controversial had ended up floundering,” federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale reportedly said.
“When I put forward the legislation package I want to make sure that it's a package that will succeed.”
Supporters of tougher gun laws say new restrictions are needed to better protect citizens, while opponents say more stringent rules would erode private property rights.
In the past some rural Alberta residents have been amongst the loudest voices opposing tighter federal firearm laws.
Whether those same individuals feel the same today remains to be seen.
Yet with the government once again looking at changes to gun laws, could rural Albertans find themselves on the front lines of a new and bitter gun control fight in 2018?
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor.
