Islanders fly Canadian flag with pride on its 60th anniversary

On the 60th anniversary of Canada's red-and-white Maple Leaf flag, some Prince Edward Islanders say the tense relationship between their country and the U.S. has inspired them to put their national pride on display.

The Gallery Coffee House and Bistro in downtown Charlottetown celebrated Flag Day for the first time by flying two Canadian flags outside. 

"We're so proud to be part of this great country that we're happy to show that," said Jessica Fritz, who owns the local business with her husband. 

Amid ongoing tensions with the U.S., Canadians across the country are uniting around the flag. 

In a joint statement this week, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper urged Canadians to fly the flag with pride as "never before" this Saturday on Flag Day.

"We are standing strong with the people of Canada," Fritz said. 

'I'm a proud Canadian'

The way Canadians have been uniting around the flag is "a real positive about this moment," said Christopher Griffin, the artist in residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. 

"I haven't seen anything like this before. It makes me proud to be Canadian." 

Griffin celebrated Flag Day by flying a flag from an elephant sculpture he created out of snow.

"I just thought it was the perfect union of these two symbols," he said. 

Griffin has a history of creating artwork inspired by the elephant, which coincidentally has long been a metaphor for the Republican Party in the U.S. 

"I never treat it with the symbolism of a certain party down south, but I can't ignore that either and it's kind of appropriate to have a Canada flag on an elephant," he said. 

While the elephant piece was inspired by Flag Day, Griffin said he's also working on an art series called O Canada, which is based on lyrics of the Canadian national anthem and features iconic Canadian animals. 

Griffin said he was inspired by the U.S. presidential inauguration and "the disrespect that has been shown to Canada," in the artist's words.

"I'm a proud Canadian," he said. "I've never actually said that out loud before or felt the need to say it out loud before, and things have changed." 

'There's so much goodness'

While Flag Day might be just one day of the year to show Canadian pride, Griffin said he's looking ahead.  

"I'm looking forward to making our country the best it can be, and I'm looking forward to uniting and being a country called Canada — for the rest of my life, anyway," he said. 

At The Gallery, Fritz said she hopes the support Canadians are showing one another continues. 

"Sometimes it takes a situation or a crisis for people to recall what's around them," she said. 

"There's so much goodness out there on P.E.I. and in the rest of the Canadian provinces, so don't shut your eyes in front of that when we're back to … no tariffs with the U.S., hopefully."