Canadian flag sales surge amid trade war

First at five we look into a new survey says national pride has skyrocketed.

From homes to businesses, and even cars, the red and white is everywhere.

As the ongoing trade battle with the United States continues, one Halifax-area flag store is seeing an unprecedented surge in demand.

“The volume of people and orders that we’re getting is usually what we would have at the lead-up to Canada Day,” said Robert Luer, employee at the Flag Emporium in Dartmouth.

That demand has only increased since Flag Day in February.

“One particular trend stands out: first-time purchasers,” Luer said. “What is really noticeable for our business is the flagpole kits that we sell. We’re selling way more than normal, which suggests a lot of these customers are first-time flag flyers.”

Customers have told employees other locations have run out of Canadian flags.

“It kind of surprised us, because feeling with commercial volumed that we deal with, we are always very well stocked with Canada flags,” Luer said.

The store is seeing a push to buy Canadian-made flags.

“Flags can be imported and sometimes people customers will not really bother too much about where the flag is made,” said Luer. “People are now way more conscientious of where the products they’re buying are made, so we’re definitely selling more ‘made in Canada’ Canada flags.”

Many customers said purchasing a flag is their way of taking a stand.

“Our sovereignty has been challenged, so it’s really annoyed people. We’ve had a lot of angry people in here…and they talk to us about how they’re feeling, and buying a flag and showing their patriotism is a great way of countering the feelings that are coming because of what’s happening down south,” Luer said.

Luer said the volume of online orders has also increased, including shipping to the U.S.

“At the start, around Flag Day, those orders were from Canadians and snowbirds that were down south. Now, we’re getting Americans who order Canada flags from us to ship down there, where they’re sending us pictures of their flags up,” Luer said.

A new survey by Leger Marketing suggests national pride is on the rise, with 86 per cent of respondents saying they are proud to be Canadian. Eighty per cent of respondents said they were proud to be Canadian last November.

Pride is highest among people aged 55 and over- at 92 per cent - while 86 per cent of people between the ages of 35 and 54, and 75 per cent of people aged 18-34, said that are proud to be Canadian.

The poll sampled more than 1,500 Canadians from March 1 to March 2.