VANCOUVER—An overwhelming majority of British Columbians support a ban on handguns and military-style assault weapons in their municipalities, according to a new poll.

Roughly 80 per cent of residents want to ban handguns within the limits of their municipality, while 86 per cent support a ban on military-style assault weapons in their city or town.

“People are saying if we can find a way to ban this, then it may make things safer,” said Mario Canseco, president of the polling company Research Co., which conducted the online survey of 800 adults.

The findings come after Montreal’s city council adopted a motion last month calling for a nationwide ban on both handguns and military-style assault weapons.

The move was an “interesting way” of enacting federal legislation from a municipal standpoint, Canseco said. And rates of gun violence in Montreal are not as high as in Surrey or Toronto, he added.

“The ball is in the court of the federal government now,” he said. “Montreal is important for them politically, especially with the (federal) election coming up in a year.”

Last month, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh formally asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to immediately give cities leeway to ban handguns in a letter outlining a long-term approach to tackling crime. Singh said adding more policing is not a solution to gun violence in cities.

Read more:

Opinion | Tim Harper: Is a handgun ban legally — or politically — complicated for Liberals?

Editorial | It’s time for a ban on handguns

Opinion | Susan Delacourt: A national handgun ban? Don’t expect a quick trigger

Meanwhile, as municipal elections edge closer, several Surrey candidates are running on platforms that attempt to address crime levels. Some have openly said a handgun ban is not the best course of action, Canseco noted.

But unlike former polls about guns — where gaps of support range between urban and rural areas — Canseco said there was very little variation across the board.

And these “high numbers” of support are rarely seen, he added, noting there was a drop within the Okanagan region. But even that number remained at 70 per cent.

“If these weapons are not being used for protection from animals in a rural area, then why do we have them here?” Canseco said. “That’s where most of them are coming from. There’s no need for any of these weapons to be out there.”

He noted there was a “bit” of a gender gap in the poll.

While 90 per cent of women support a ban, roughly 70 per cent of men echo their sentiments. And baby boomers — or those over the age of 55 — offer the highest levels of support for a gun ban.

“There’s a bit of a shift ... It’s actually the over 55s who are saying why are we having guns on the street,” Canseco said. “It’s an interesting correlation between that group and women.”

But millennials also support a handgun ban — only one in five believe it’s a bad idea, he said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The results also cut across political party lines. Canseco said although the level of support is slightly lower from provincial Liberals, it parallels the levels of support from both Green and NDP voters.

“Support for the course of action charted in Montreal is high across the entire province,” Canseco said.

The survey, carried out from Sept. 2 to 5, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Read more about: