Toronto Mayor David Miller called for an "absolute ban" on handguns in Canada after the city's second shooting death of an innocent bystander in less than a week.

"We can choose to act," Miller said at a press conference on Friday. "We can choose to say handguns are so dangerous and kill uninvolved people that we're going to close the loopholes in our law and end the ownership of handguns in this country."

The charge comes after Hou Chang Mao, a 47-year-old father of two, was shot while stacking oranges at the grocery store where he was working Thursday night.

He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead upon arrival, police said Friday.

His death comes less than a week after 42-year-old John O'Keefe was caught in a deadly crossfire as he was returning home after a night out with friends. O'Keefe, a father of one, was not the intended target.

On Friday, Miller called the two killings "absolute tragedies" and renewed his long-established call for the federal government to ban handguns.

"There are loopholes today that allow so-called collectors and hobbyists to possess handguns, and to carry them around our city," he told CTV Newsnet.

Miller said a significant portion of guns used in crimes are stolen from gun owners, and another significant portion came from the U.S.

He called for the federal government to close the loophole and install a national handgun ban, and invest more attention into securing our borders.

Miller said the federal government spends billions of dollars on airport security to prevent terrorism, but not nearly enough to stop the flow of guns from coming in from the United States.

"This is a real, everyday safety threat to our major cities, and it's time we paid the same attention to it," he told reporters. "I think it's time Canadians came together. These challenges aren't just in Toronto, they exist across this country."

He said he would meet with Canada's ambassador to the U.S. and Ontario's attorney general to seek advice and support for his mission.

While speaking to CTV Newsnet, Miller called for the federal government to fulfill a commitment made in the November throne speech to hire 2,500 new city police officers. He also demanded they work more closely with U.S. authorities.

He called for members of Parliament to have their voices heard.

"It's a minority government, and it's time for that Parliament to act in the interests and the safety of our cities," he said.

On Monday, Miller will meet with Attorney General Chris Bentley to discuss forming a united front intended to force the federal government to take action.

Absolute handgun ban unlikely

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day ruled out a total ban on handguns on Friday, saying that the weapons were already effectively banned.

"You don't make headway against firearm crime by going against innocent firearm owners," Day told The Canadian Press.

A more effective response would be to establish mandatory jail sentences for people who commit gun crimes -- a move that has been opposed by other federal parties, he said.

Day also said the Conservative government has increased funding to stop smuggling at the border and has established a stricter screening process for firearm ownership.

They are also "well on our way" to hiring 1,000 RCMP officers, he added.

Miller met with reporters after speaking with business leaders in the area where Hou was shot, known as East Chinatown. He said they urged him to tell Torontonians that the neighbourhood was safe.

"Go over there today. Go over have dinner, go do a little bit of shopping. That's the way to show the people in that neighbourhood that you support them at this tragic time," he said.

City councillor Paula Fletcher and MPP Peter Tabuns also toured the neighbourhood on Friday to reassure shopkeepers and residents that the city and province were concerned about what had happened.

Fletcher requested an increased police presence to help put people at ease, and backed Miller's call for a handgun ban.

"This is a terrible tragedy, it's an unnecessary tragedy. It's a tragedy because we've developed a gun culture in this city that has to stop," she told CTV Toronto.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Alicia Kay-Markson