Cougars are more of a concern to me than bears. Bears will generally avoid you but can become a problem if you happen to come between a mother and her cubs. For this reason, I always carry bear spray when out in the bush. I've encountered a lot of bears, and never had to use it, but the one time if I happen to come between a mother and her cubs, I will be glad it's clipped to my belt.
Cougars, unlike bears, stalk little kids and I have three screeching girls who play outside of my cabin in Tulameen, within blocks of where I have seen cougars. When they were little, I gave them a boat horn type of screecher and taught them to press it, and said if they ever see a cougar to press it and I will come running. I've heard of too many cougar attacks not to take precautions. In fact, a mother was riding her horse in Tulameen when a cougar had the courage to take her son 9 years old son off his horse. This happened close to my cabin and this is the story from the local paper of the cougar attack:
It suddenly jumped from the undergrowth at little Steven. The boy was thrown from his horse where the lion attacked him. The mother screamed at it and leapt from her horse, clubbing the lion away from her son with a branch she was able to break off. Then she continued to fight the animal and instructed her two other children to get the injured youngster to the safety of their car and then to get help. Finally, her older son found an armed camper, Jim Manion, who was led to the scene. He found Cindy still fighting the cougar more than an hour later. Much of her upper torso had been consumed. It was amazing she was still alive. She asked if her children were OK, and when Jim said yes, she said in a half-whisper, "I am dying now," and she collapsed. Cindy died from her injuries. Her son Steven made a full recovery. This male mountain lion weighed only 65 pounds though there was plenty of prey in the area.
The story is so tragic. The family is well-known in the small town of Tulameen. It's too bad she didn't have a can of bear spray since the outcome would likely have been very different.
Also, five years ago, three cougars were shot after stalking children in Princeton, which is close to Tulameen:
Cougars shot for stalking B.C. children
In my opinion, bear spray is a must (we can't carry hand guns in Canada, thankfully) and rifles are not something you can carry as easily as bear spray, and if something goes wrong with the bear spray itself, it's not fatal. If you are buying bear spray, check the expiration date since it does expire (and becomes less effective with age). If you are coming to Canada, you can pick it up at Canadian Tire:
Bear Repellent Spray | Canadian Tire
