Access to guns is extremely restricted. Canada is the second largest country by land mass, and thus police protection is not readily available at all times. In these cases, and others where protection of life is concerned, hand guns and other firearms may be authorized. There should be no instance where a common civilian is issued a hand gun or the authority to do concealed carrying. I've been in Canada my whole life, the only guns I've seen are on the hips of police officers (they all carry tazers as well as a first line of defence) and held by armoured vehicle occupants. I have seen one hunting rifle, but you'd have a hard time carrying that around in public. Permits must be readily accessible at all times while in possession of a firearm.
It's not that big of a deal to get a gun in Canada. It's easier and faster to get a firearms license (weekend safety course) than it is to get a driving license. People don't feel like it's a big burden to carry their driving license when driving either. Canada just doesn't have that big of a gun culture is really the main difference, and if people have guns they don't really talk about it. For example, my father had a few hunting guns since forever and I didn't even realize until 10 years after he bought it!
I also have lived in Seattle and SF for 5+ years, and like Canada you never see anybody but the police carrying guns around. Worrying about gun violence in the USA is fear mongering, you should still be far more worried about motor vehicles.
Also CC license people have much lower rates of gun violence and crime than the general population, it's not those people you have to worry about.