Prime Minister Jean Chretien is facing his toughest battle since taking office, pushing through a new gun control bill in the face of opposition from most of Canada’s provinces and from his own party.

With a 118-seat majority in the House of Commons, there is little doubt Chretien, who took office 19 months ago, can ram through and win a vote on gun control. The question is how high a political price he’ll pay.

At the center of the political firestorm is a government bill that would stiffen jail terms for people convicted of using guns in the commission of a crime, crack down on firearms smuggling and restrict ammunition sales. Most people have no qualms about these measures.

What has their backs up is the plan to register every gun in Canada by 2002 - including hunting rifles and shotguns.