Why Canadians used to put flags on their backpacks

and where did Canadian flags go and why they're back again

Travel and Leisure

Back in the 90s and even earlier, Canadians travelling abroad, particularly Europe, would often sew a Canadian flag onto their backpacks. While some might have seen this as merely a patriotic display, most of us knew why this practice was so common: 

We didn't want to be mistaken for Americans.

American Tourists Illustration by Dustin Elliot

If you're Canadian and you're reading this, I don't need to explain this to you. But if you're American, hear me out. While GIs rolling through the streets of Paris in 1945 got a hero's welcome, times had changed since then, and many countries had seen, or more likely heard, enough of Americans. With the advent of inexpensive airline travel, Americans were flocking to Europe in record numbers, and by the 1980s, most had had unpleasant interactions with these new tourists. Well known for their loud voices, rude and entitled behaviour, American tourists were easy to spot (or hear) and often were disrespectful of local culture and customs. For most of the folks from the US that I know, this information comes as no surprise; some Americans have even been called out for pretending to be Canadians while travelling.

The problem for most of us Canadians, is that we sound like folks from the West Coast states, and we follow the same fashion trends as the US; we look and sound like many Americans. I remember on my first trip to Europe, how different the styles were, and how easily you could spot North Americans. So Canadians started putting the flags on their backpacks, which immediately distanced ourselves from our Southern cousins. Europeans with anti-American sentiments were quickly put at ease with this minor display, and in general, we received better treatment and service than the US tourists.

While most of us Canadians are quite patriotic, proclaiming our nationality and chest-thumping is not aligned with our stereo-typically meek behaviour. Sure, when we beat the Americans in hockey in the 2010 Olympics, our hearts were bursting with national pride. Little Canada, with only 34 million people, had beaten the big brother, USA with a population of almost 10 times ours; it truly was a David vs. Goliath moment. We love our country, but we exhibit our patriotism judiciously; if it's always on display, you tend to forget that it's there.

Over time, the practice of putting our flag on our luggage diminished, mostly because we stopped backpacking as we got older, and I believe we just got better at being good tourists. Whereas Americans were still self-identifying and getting poor treatment at the local boulangerie, maybe we just took the time to understand the local customs and etiquette. Also, when I started travelling to Europe on business trips, I was carrying a computer briefcase and some sort of wheeled luggage, and so I wasn't inclined to stick anything on my precious leather shoulder bag. It's not that I didn't want to show my Canadian flag, it's that I no longer needed to.

But then there was the event that occurred not long ago, that caused us to put away our flags completely. Early in 2022, disgruntled right-wing truckers used the Canadian flag as the symbol of their rallying cry against all things anti-government. Fuelled by skepticism over vaccine mandates, COVID-19 safety protocols and other anti-science theories, they drove their big rigs across Canada to our nation's capital to protest. Hate Justin? You're in! Anti-immigrant? Come on down to Ottawa!

It was ironic (moronic?), that these climate-change deniers and carbon-tax naysayers burned all that fossil fuel to haul nothing all the way to Ottawa. The rest of Canada watched in horror as the "Freedom Convoy" idled their huge diesel engines, blew their horns, and flew our flag in the name of the supposed freedom which we already have. And that's how our flag became a symbol of stupidity, synonymous with right-wing idealism, anti-government, xenophobia, etc. We cringed as these flat-earthers waved our Canadian flag and caught international news headlines around the world. That's why normal Canadians quietly archived their flags, not even bringing them out on Canada Day, the one day that we might be inclined to display one, for fear of being branded a rightwing nut.

Image Trump posted of Switzerland

But now, we are in the early stages of Trump's 2nd term, and unless you have just come out of a coma, you have undoubtedly heard that he wants to annex Canada, making it the 51st state. Righ wing supporters will say that this is just part of his negotiation style, as he's levied/removed/re-levied tariffs on Canada (and Mexico) as part of his America-First program. But everything we have seen and heard from his senior staffers and advisors, is that he's serious about taking away the "artificial line" and forcing a sovereign nation to submit to his will through economic coercion or other means. Warren Buffet has these called the tariffs on Canada an "act of war". 

War? Canada has historically responded very well during wartime. We repelled the US the last time they tried to annex part of Canada (then part of Britain), and we even burnt down the White House in retaliation. So now Canadian patriotism is now at an all-time high, and our flags are back, proudly on display.

We even went out and bought a new one to put on the front porch, a practice almost unheard of in Canada. "Buy Canadian" is on everyones' mind as they shop, and travellers are cancelling US trips in droves. And when we most needed it, Canada was facing off against their arch rivals in the NHL's Four Nations final. Again, our boys rose to the occasion, and defeated the USA in overtime with a decisive shot from Connor McDavid.

For Americans wondering why we would resist being part of the US so much, I have a long-winded response for you. By now, you've seen the video of Jeff Daniels playing Will McAvoy on Newsroom where he responds to a question, "Can You Say Why America is the Greatest Country in the World?" If you haven't seen it, here it is - go ahead and watch it; I'll wait.

Whew! Well that was quite the speech. And while the TV series is now over 12 years old, the sentiment still rings true. The factoids however are no longer current; I don't have the source for them, and so I pulled some recent information from the web and compared them with where we sit in Canada. Scholastically, the US has fallen from the data points that Will quotes, but Canada ranks higher in all three noted areas. Life expectancy has dropped in the States to age 79.40 whereas the average Canuck lives to 83.26 years. I don't know how they measure happiness, but Canada leads again at 15 versus the US at 23. In terms of safety, Americans are way down the list at #131, and incarcerate 531 adults per capita - the most of any democracy on earth. Chew on that for a bit.

Canada on the other hand, comes in at 11th in safety, with only 85 incarcerated adults per 100k. What about freedom - that which Americans hold most dear and tout more than any other thing? 17th. Canada, unsurprisingly, ranks 11th. Oh and one last factoid that Jeff Will brings up; there are more Americans that believe in angels than vaccines. So when you hear on the news about random Americans saying, "why wouldn't Canadians want to become part of the US?", now you know why the answer is "Sorry, but no thanks".

And to our cherished Maple Leaf, we're sorry that we abandoned you for a while there. But we're ready to put you front and centre again as we fight for our country. 

We display our Canadian flag because we're proud Canadians; we don't want to be Americans, let alone be mistaken for them. 

Elbows up Canada!