‘I hope I make the country proud': These Canadians turned their rage at Trump's rhetoric into something positive

Hamilton Spectator

01-07-2025

A wave of boos quickly drowned out the first notes of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in Montreal's Bell Centre. Moments later, when 'O Canada' began, the packed crowd bellowed a deafening roar. It was Canada against the U.S. in a one-off hockey tournament, but the moment meant more.
As economic uncertainty deepened and threats to Canada's sovereignty from U.S. President
Donald Trump
grew louder, defiant Canadian patriotism began to emerge this year.
'The threats to our sovereignty and to our economy were very negative,' said Theo Heintzman, a member of 'Elbows Up Toronto' — a community group focused on building national solidarity in Toronto.
'But, the positive was seeing a country come together around how much Canada means to us.'
Fewer Canadians were heading south of the border. In April, Canadian return trips by air from the U.S. declined by 14 per cent from the previous year, and in May it fell to 24.2 per cent,
according to Statistics Canada data
. Road travel — the most common mode of travel across the border — saw a steep decline, plummeting 38 per cent year-over-year in May
At home, Canadians chose to shop local, with 68 per cent supporting the 'Buy Canadian' movement, according to
a Narrative Research poll released in May
. Others, including Heintzman, have embraced the hockey-inspired slogan
'Elbows Up'
as a rallying cry.
Now is a time for Canadians to unite, Heintzman said.
'It's really important to have a sense of community when you're going through more challenging times,' he added.
For Canada Day, the Star spoke to Canadians who've embraced that spirit — each in their own way.
As the threat of annexation began to feel more intense, Jessica Langer Kapalka and her husband, Jason Kapalka, started thinking about creating a space where everyone could come together to celebrate Canada.
Co-owner Jessica Langer Kapalka at Grizzly Bar, a Canadiana-themed spot in Toronto.
So, they transformed their downtown Toronto space-themed restaurant, Offworlds, into Grizzly Bar — a Canadian-themed restaurant.
'We wanted to … show how lovely Canadians are,' she said.
Though born from sour trade relations with the U.S., the bar is 'for anybody who loves Canada,' Langer Kapalka said — even Americans. One wall showcases a 'Wall of Heroes,' lined with portraits of 37 Canadian icons. Vintage Canadian artwork surrounds diners while a canoe hangs above.
The soundtrack? Only homegrown artists. The rule for the menu? If it can't be sourced from Canada, it can't be American. And yes, they accept
Canadian Tire money
.
'The ethos of Grizzly Bar was 'Why not?'' she said.
The main area is shown at Grizzly Bar, an everything Canadiana-themed spot in Toronto.
Much of the decor was donated, Langer Kapalka said, but the pop-up's total cost of nearly $10,000 was a 'worthy investment.' The temporary restaurant opened in April, and beyond Canada Day, its future is uncertain.
But she believes the restaurant has done its job: serving as a place people can have fun while being unabashedly Canadian.
'I don't think I've ever seen Canada care about being Canadian as much as we have since (our sovereignty) was threatened,' she said.
'With Grizzly Bar, we've chosen the kind invitation to witness our sovereign culture in our sovereign nation … as opposed to being America's hat, as they sometimes call us.'
Newfoundland and Labrador based author, Nick Cranford with his word search of Canada puzzle book, part of a series he created highlighting all things Canadiana.
What started out as a simple Newfoundland and Labrador themed word search book dedicated to his great-nan — a proud Newfoundlander, Canadian and lover of word puzzles — has now spiralled into a collection of more than 15 Canadiana word search books about each province, the country as a whole and the city of Toronto.
The books — part educational, part tour guide — are 'just a cool way to explore the country interactively,' said Nick Cranford, the Newfoundland-based author of the series.
Each word search book has 140 puzzles with more than 2,000 words and all of them feature local parks, animals, geography, sports teams, politicians, artists, actors, musicians and famous Canadians.
Cranford said he felt an urgency to create books for each province.
But it's not just famous people included in the puzzles. Cranford said he also wanted to give recognition to the people and things across the country that we don't always hear about, like the small, local 'mom and pop shops,' adding some of the books have a 'small business spotlight puzzle.'
Quickly realizing the first book evoked pride and feelings of heightened patriotism for Canada among readers who reached out to thank him, Cranford said he felt an urgency to create books for each province — especially in light of Trump threatening annexation and repeatedly referring to Canada as the '51st state.'
'These books are how I'm doing my patriotic duty. I hope I make the country proud,' Cranford said.
Dominion City Brewing Co. co-owner Josh McJannett launched the 'Glorious and Free' uniting Canadian breweries. In total, almost 40 companies signed on, each pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds to a Canadian charity.
Josh McJannett, co-founder of the Ottawa-based Dominion City Brewing Co., was grappling with the economic uncertainty sparked by widespread tariffs. Feeling frustrated and helpless, he went to the drawing board.
'There's this madman in an office in Washington, D.C., who wakes up every day deciding what is going to happen to me, my business, my country and my community,' he said. 'And it just felt rotten.'
Soon after, Dominion City Brewing Co. launched the 'Glorious and Free' campaign, encouraging fellow brewers across the nation to brew beers entirely made with Canadian ingredients.
Before McJannett knew it, a brewery in every province and Yukon had joined. In total, almost 40 companies signed on, each pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds to Canadian charities.
Months after the initiative launched, McJannett said he's proud of how the brewing industry banded together.
'The idea was, how do we harness the power of indie beer — doing the things we're good at — to be a small light in a dark room,' he said. 'We wanted to make sure that it does something good to make Canada a better country, a stronger country, at a really challenging moment.'
Months after the initiative launched, McJannett said he's proud of how the brewing industry banded together — not only to push back, but to celebrate Canadian values and culture.
Now, he said, it's an important time to highlight how Canada stands on its own.
'I do feel real pride about it,' he said of his love for the country. 'And I think a lot of people should.'
Pilot Mike Jones used his Grob G 115 Aircraft to fly a 456 KM flight path in the shape of a Canadian Maple leaf earlier this year.
Upset by Trump's erratic announcements, a London-based pilot took to the sky to send a message to our neighbours to the south.
'It got me a little riled up,' said semi-retired flight instructor and pilot examiner, Mike Jones, 71, who might just be Canada's most patriotic pilot after charting a 426-kilometre flight in the shape of a Canadian maple leaf.
'It wasn't saying anything bad about the U.S., it wasn't too political, and it was easy to fly … straight lines and turns,' said Jones.
To plan his route, he printed an outline of the maple leaf on an overhead projector film, dropped that over a paper map and 'moved it around until it was oriented the way I wanted to fly it,' said Jones. Next, he looked at each corner of the maple leaf, got an iPad and plugged in every waypoint, 'just eyeballing it from the map.'
A screengrab of the Canadian Maple leaf as waypoints, pilot Mike Jones used to chart his 426 KM flight path to create the patriotic symbol.
Jones watched for a weather window in early February, flying on what he described as a 'beautiful, clear, cold day where I could see for 30 miles' — or nearly 50 kilometres.
Flying at 5,000 to 6,000 feet (or 1,524 to 1,829 metres) higher than most training aircraft, but below where most commercial flights are, Jones said 'there wasn't too much traffic.'
The journey, flown in his small German-built, two-seater airplane, a G-115, lasted just over two hours.
Pilot Mike Jones stands in front of his Grob G 115 Aircraft at the London International Airport in London, Ont.
Much to his delight, once he landed he was greeted by people who had watched the shape of the maple leaf come to life on flight radars as he flew through the sky.
While no plans are set, the patriotic pilot said he's now considering flying the shape of a maple leaf over every province.
Looking for a way to deal with her anger around Trump's threats of making Canada the 51st state, and the trade war, Cathy Checora found herself wanting to do something that could empower other Canadians. She and her son, Ryan, designed the app OSCANada to help Canadians buy local products.
Looking for a way to deal with her anger around the trade war, Cathy Checora found herself wanting to do something that could empower other Canadians.
Alongside her son, Ryan Checora, the two Calgary-based app developers set out to design an app to help Canadian's buy local products — or at least know when they aren't — by scanning barcodes. The two developed OSCANada, allowing real time responses, displaying information on what products are Canadian, which are American and even those that are a mix of both.
'I don't think Canada is any better than any other country, but we are our own country,' Cathy said. 'And if anybody questions our sovereignty, those are fighting words.'
Ryan, who made the app's Android version, said he is constantly scanning things and checking them, to test if the app is working and to improve it.
'By doing so, I'm also aware of my choices,' said Ryan, who has boycotted U.S. shaving brand Gillette despite not finding a good alternative.
The programming duo said they continue to receive feedback and suggestions of product barcodes to add. The app is close to recommending Canadian alternatives, said Cathy. 'And perhaps even have a web link so you can order if the product isn't local to yourself.'
Bothered by Trump's rhetoric, Eric Goggins spent nearly four hours walking in the snow to make Canadian-inspired artwork.
Trump's rhetoric of Canada becoming part of the United States really bothered him, so he set out to create some artwork — by dragging his feet on a frozen lake and using a drone overhead. The image? A beautiful Canadian moose, etched in snow.
'It was during a lot of negative political talk in the world,' said Eric Goggin, a New Brunswick-based illustrator, graphic artist, and owner of Goggin Signs and Graphics, for more than 30 years.
The moose, brought to life through what Goggin calls, 'stomp-art' — the act of dragging his feet through the snow, shuffling and creating lines for the image to take shape — wasn't his first attempt at the art form, adding not every image he has tried has worked, but the moose is special, he said, and meant to evoke pride and patriotism.
He sketched his design of the moose on a piece of paper, and launched his drone in the air. Walking out onto the thickly-frozen Washademoak Lake with his drone monitor in hand so he could see himself from above, he got to work.
Artist Eric Goggin seen here creating stomp-art in the snow on the frozen-solid, Washademoak Lake, New Brunswick.
'I could kind of kick the snow and it revealed the image that I was looking at in the monitor, from the air,' said Goggin. 'I had to make corrections with the lines as I saw the illustration come to life.'
Creating scale from ground level is difficult, Goggin added.
On the ice level, you're just walking around kicking snow, he said. 'You can't really see the scale properly to create a moose leg or a moose head or moose antlers. You have to see it from high above.'
To create the moose, Goggin spent nearly four hours on the lake, retracing his steps where blowing wind would change the image, and trekking back to his cottage to change batteries in his drone which didn't last long in the cold.
'It was just a real positive, fun art project,' he said.
A fan holds up the bat Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lost on a swing during the fifth inning in a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners in July 2024.
For more than 20 years, diehard sports fan Joo-Ha Lee made the same trip: one annual drive to Seattle with two close friends to watch the Blue Jays take on the Mariners.
Living in Vancouver, the drive south was usually his only chance to see the Jays in person each year. But after Trump was elected, that tradition halted.
'I just didn't feel like I could enjoy myself going down to watch a ball game,' Lee said. 'We decided not to go for the next few years. It was an easy call for me to make.'
After the 2016 election, Lee also avoided travel to the U.S. entirely. He and his friends only picked the tradition back up after the pandemic.
Still, he'll now miss the laughs on the drive, the stops for food and the memories made inside T-Mobile Park as part of their Canadian invasion.
'It was a nice, easy little road trip,' he said. 'Now, even the possibility of that being easy is made more difficult … so none of that seemed enjoyable as a prospect to me.'
This May, instead of heading to Seattle, Lee and his friends stayed home to watch the NHL playoffs. For his birthday, he had planned to watch his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers, play in Seattle later this year. Now, he plans on watching them in Montreal instead.
What would it take to bring him back? A sense of security at the border for everyone.
'Until that happens,' he said. 'I'm not sure I need to go.'