Canadians crack down on guns, alarmed by flow from U.S.
From Columbine to Charleston, here's a look at some of the notable U.S. mass shootings since 1999. (Alice Li/The Washington Post)

Personnel at the cemetery in La Loche, Saskatchewan lit a fire on Jan. 25, 2016 to thaw the frozen ground where they planned to dig a grave for one of the victims of a mass shooting in the remote aboriginal community in western Canada. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

By William Marsden-February 14

MONTREAL — Canada bans most guns and has a minuscule number of gun-related homicides a year. But, worried about smuggled firearms from the United States, its government is preparing to stiffen its already tough gun laws and step up border surveillance.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised new regulations and a string of measures to counter gun smuggling, which is regarded here as a dangerous problem underscoring the United States’ much looser firearm laws.

[Why Canada’s gun culture is different — and why its shootings shock America]

The move comes as police have discovered an increased number of high-powered handguns, semiautomatic and automatic weapon s in Canadian cities.

Since 2005, Toronto has had the worst of it. As gun battles broke out across the city between rival street gangs that year, innocent people got caught in the crossfire.

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