An East Vancouver bar’s flag protesting remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada should become the “51st state” was vandalized overnight, according to the owner.
The red-and-white flag, which read “Never 51,” was hanging outside the Ivanhoe Pub on Main Street for weeks before someone apparently mounted a ladder to cut a large piece out of it, said Nasser Nabahat.
“I was really shocked,” the owner told CTV News. “I just wanted to show my dislike of what’s happening south of the border.”
Nabahat said the general response to the flag has been positive, from Canadians and Americans alike. He recounted seeing some U.S. visitors recently stopping to take pictures with the flag.
“Everybody appreciated it,” he said.
In response to the vandalism, the owner said he plans to have the same message painted onto the brick walls of the establishment, so that “nobody can take it out.”
While the flag was mostly a lighthearted gesture, Nabahat said he hopes his fellow Canadians take Trump’s words seriously and make their opposition heard.
“I think our fellow citizens, they are in a sleepy mood, and they should get up,” he said. “Show their protest against what’s happening towards Canada. We need to get united, we can’t just sit back and look at what’s happening to us.”
Stewart Prest, a political science professor at UBC, says he isn’t surprised by the act, given the rising tensions between the two countries.
“These fault lines are quite deep and the feelings being exposed are quite raw, because it speaks to fundamental issues of identity and belonging,” he said.
“The danger here is that we can see escalatory spirals where people will interpret that kind of pushback as being newly antagonistic, and we can see those tempers ramping up even further.”
He adds that it speaks to the strong patriotism among Canadians and the strong resistance against “being told what to do in their own country.”
“They value their ability to express their views”, he said.
With files from Yasmin Gandham.
