Canadian cowboys

At dinner last night a friend told me that he was once in Calagary for business during the Calgary Stampede. He was surprised to see cowboys in Canada. They had the hats, the boots, the spurs....but something was missing. It finally dawned on him. "How can they be cowboys if they don't have guns?". He went on to describe how sidearms are common in Dallas as part of regular attire. If the cowboy hat is like a turban, then maybe sidearms are like the Texan version of the Sikh dagger?