The Appleseed idea is a good one. The instructors in my area are quite serious about pedagogy, but I am guessing that there is always a variation in terms of the quality, flavor, etc. of each shoot.

Some newspapers make them out to look like a militia group. That's not true at all. They stick close to marksmanship and heritage, and they advocate civic participation -- not for any specific party. They're just against apathy. Now, you can say that's a kind of politics, and you'd probably be right. But that's a far cry from an overtly political organization. What I'm trying to say is that Canadians should be fine. You don't need to worry that you'd be out of place.