Good summary of a lot of history, Cr. A couple of quibbles/comments:

- What you're referring to as our "constitution" is of course the Charter of Rights. Our "constitution" is the British North America Act of 1867.

- The British and Canadian governments learned from the example of the settling of the American west - they were determined to avoid the kind of violence and lawlessness that had been so prevalent there; hence, the creation of the North-West Mounted Police, the urgency of treaty-making, establishment of administrative bureaucracy and procedure, etc. Without the American object lesson, it all might have been much messier.

- I'm not sure "British assumptions about guns" were vastly different from the corresponding American attitudes in the era in question. Interestingly, in towns like Dodge City and Tombstone - mentioned above - in that mythological Golden Age of American freedom and rugged individualism, there were what would today be considered intolerable restrictions regarding firearms - you weren't allowed to carry them. In fact, that was one of the catalysts of the infamous Shoot-out at the Okay Corral: the 'bad guys' were carrying their guns within town limits. (Caveat: I don't claim to be any kind of authority on any of that Wild West stuff; I've just picked up a bit from reading and watching documentaries).