The Maple Leaf has been a symbol of national pride for many decades, and in the wake of Donald Trump’s anti-Canadian rhetoric, a sense of patriotism is sweeping the country including a reclaiming of the flag.
The sense of pride comes after Trump has repeatedly said Canada should become the 51st American state.
Feb. 15 marks the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag after it was first raised in 1965.
“This year, more than ever, not only do we have to celebrate our flag but also remind ourselves what it represents: our values, our resilience and our sovereignty,” minister Pascale St-Onge said.
“This national emblem represents the values we all cherish — generosity, openness, respect and equality. A flag that could not be mistaken for any other, it connects us to our national identity, to our Canadian pride and to each other. Seeing our bright red and white flag with its maple leaf flying reminds us of the home we all share.
A Leger poll published this week found Trump’s threats are driving a swell of national pride, with 85 per cent of Canadians saying they feel proud to be Canadian.
Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, said people are again seeing the flag as a symbol of tolerance and inclusion, and of Canadian distinctiveness from the United States. During the “Freedom Convoy” protests, it “came to symbolize a new form of identity,” he said, but now Canadians of all political stripes are being urged to wave it proudly.
“The flag flies for all,” he said.
In a joint statement this week, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper urged Canadians to fly the flag with pride as “never before” this Saturday on Flag Day.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
“Let’s show the world that we are proud of our history and proud of our country,” the statement said.
The Maple Leaf was first designed by George F. G. Stanley, and that red and white flag has been flying off store shelves in the last few weeks.
Judy Denham, the owner of the Saskatoon Flag Shop said ever since Trump suggested becoming a state, sales have gone up.
“There definitely is an influx of people buying Canadian flags right now,” she said. “With the former prime ministers making the call to Canadians to fly a Canada flag, we’ve found that the Canadians are responding.”
On Wednesday, Denham said they did more sales in one day than they do in a week.
“I’ve had a couple customers comment that they’ve never owned a Canadian flag before today,” she said.
“I think a lot of people, even though they don’t want to necessarily take a hard political stance, are responding to what’s happening in North America,” Denham added. “They want to show that they are Canadian.
“They believe in being strong Canadians and just making their subtle statement that that they want to stay unified.”
Candice Mauro, president of Process Colour in Calgary, echoed a similar sentiment, saying sales started to rise after Trump’s comments about Canada becoming a U.S. state.
“You’re seeing an increase of pride,” she said. “The people that have been coming in to talk to our employees, they want the flags for their farms. They want them for their acreages or even just the pole they have in their backyard.”
Flags Unlimited, another Canadian company, said it’s seen sales of the national flag double from the same time one year ago.
And on the other side, Mauro said they have had no U.S. sales in February thus far.
As Trump continues to push Canada as an adversary, Mauro is happy people are showing their Canadian pride one flag at a time.
— With files from The Canadian Press’ Hina Alam
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
