Canada’s former prime ministers have come together to call for Canadians to show their national pride Saturday for the country’s “flag day,” which will also mark the 60th anniversary of the maple leaf’s debut.
Former prime ministers Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Jean Chrétien, Kim Campbell and Joe Clark signed a joint statement encouraging Canadians to celebrate the country’s sovereignty and economic security by flying the flag with pride as “never before.”
The statement acknowledges a “surge of Canadian pride and patriotism” over the past several weeks in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and the former prime ministers “applaud this national spirit.”
Trump signed executive orders Monday to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. “without exceptions or exemptions” starting March 12.
The U.S. president previously threatened 25-per-cent across-the-board tariffs on all Canadian imports slated for March 4, with the exception of energy, which earns a 10-per-cent carve-out.
“We call on our fellow Canadians to show the flag as never before,” reads the statement.
“The five of us come from different parties. We’ve had our share of battles in the past. But we all agree on one thing: Canada, the true north, strong and free, the best country in the world, is worth celebrating and fighting for,” it continued.
Both Clark and Campbell represented the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada while serving as prime minister whereas Chrétien and Martin were Liberals.
Harper, who held the position until 2015 before being succeeded by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, represented the Conservative Party of Canada.
Trump has repeatedly announced his desire for Canada to become a U.S. state, even going as far as to say his administration could make that happen by use of “economic force.”
“Let’s show the world that we are proud of our history and proud of our country,” the statement continued, which urged Canadians to come together to “express their love” for the country and “their determination to defend Canada’s values and independence.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre echoed the joint statement by inviting Canadians to “go out and get yourself a flag, big or small” regardless of your political allegiance and “show our colours” on Saturday.
“With the threat of tariffs and other insults, Canadians are uniting like never before around our pride and love and great country,” he said.
“We’re very proud of this country, we’ll never be the 51st state, we will always be a strong, self-reliant, sovereign country, so let’s show that message by raising the flag,” Poilievre continued.