It was troublesome to overlook Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s message to would-be American expansionists on Wednesday: He wore it proper on his hat.
Chatting with reporters in Ottawa forward of a premiers’ assembly with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to debate Canada’s response to the specter of U.S. tariffs, Ford wore a navy peaked cap emblazoned with the phrases “Canada will not be on the market” in white block letters.
The design clearly evoked the “Make America Nice Once more” slogan common amongst supporters of president-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has lately threatened to impose a tariff on all Canadian goods and has mused about using “economic force” to “get rid” of the border between the 2 international locations. These threats led to Wednesday’s meeting in Ottawa.
“That is about on a regular basis Canadians standing up for the nation,” Ford stated when requested about his alternative of headwear.
He stated he obtained the hat from Ottawa’s Jackpine Dynamic Branding, and later thanked the company on X.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives to a gathering in Ottawa on Jan. 15, 2025.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives to a gathering in Ottawa on Wednesday sporting a hat emblazoned with the slogan ‘Canada will not be on the market.’ (Blair Gable/Reuters)
Jackpine’s Liam Mooney stated the concept for the hats got here final week when he and his accomplice had been watching Ford being interviewed on Fox Information and heard the host say it might be a “privilege” for Canada to hitch the U.S.
“We thought, no. It’s a privilege to be Canadian,” Mooney stated.
Mooney stated they rapidly got here up with the “cheeky” slogan, which he confirmed is an intentional riff on the MAGA model, and shortly constructed a web site with the assistance of on-line merchandising big Shopify.
Mooney stated a member of Ford’s employees noticed the hats and known as to ask if one might be prepared for the premier in time for Wednesday’s assembly.
“We went from idea to the premier’s head in a single week’s time,” Mooney stated, describing the response as “overwhelming.”
Liam Mooney of Ottawa’s Jackpine Dynamic Branding stated the concept for the hats got here after he heard a Fox Information host say it might be a ‘privilege’ for Canada to hitch the U.S.
Liam Mooney of Ottawa’s Jackpine Dynamic Branding says the concept for the hats got here after he heard a Fox Information host say it might be a ‘privilege’ for Canada to hitch the U.S. (Olivier Plante/CBC)
By Wednesday afternoon, Mooney stated Jackpine had made tens of hundreds of {dollars} in gross sales, thanks largely to the plug from Ford. However Mooney described the enterprise as a “small act of patriotism” quite than a money-making scheme.
“It would not matter what your political affiliation is, what your get together affiliation is or what your worldview is perhaps. I feel we are able to all agree that Canada is a tremendous county, and in a world of countries Canada stands alone as a really distinctive and wonderful nation,” he stated.
“We would like folks to really feel delight in [their] nation, and we wish folks to really feel like there is a method that they’ll make a press release.”
The hats are at the moment made in Vietnam and Bangladesh, however Mooney stated Jackpine is scrambling to determine a completely Canadian provide chain that may contain unionized labour.
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