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 isn’t on the market” in white block letters.
The design clearly evoked the “Make America Nice Once more” slogan in style amongst supporters of president-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has just lately threatened to impose a tariff on all Canadian items and has mused about utilizing “financial pressure” to “get rid” of the border between the 2 nations. These threats led to Wednesday’s assembly in Ottawa.
“That is about on a regular basis Canadians standing up for the nation,” Ford mentioned when requested about his selection of headwear.
He mentioned he acquired the hat from Ottawa’s Jackpine Dynamic Branding, and later thanked the corporate 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 carrying a hat emblazoned with the slogan ‘Canada isn’t on the market.’ (Blair Gable/Reuters)
Jackpine’s Liam Mooney mentioned the concept for the hats got here final week when he and his associate have been watching Ford being interviewed on Fox Information and heard the host say it might be a “privilege” for Canada to affix the U.S.
“We thought, no. It’s a privilege to be Canadian,” Mooney mentioned.
Mooney mentioned they shortly 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 large Shopify.
Mooney mentioned a member of Ford’s employees noticed the hats and known as to ask if one could possibly 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 mentioned, describing the response as “overwhelming.”
Liam Mooney of Ottawa’s Jackpine Dynamic Branding mentioned the concept for the hats got here after he heard a Fox Information host say it might be a ‘privilege’ for Canada to affix 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 affix the U.S. (Olivier Plante/CBC)
By Wednesday afternoon, Mooney mentioned 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” reasonably than a money-making scheme.
“It would not matter what your political affiliation is, what your social gathering affiliation is or what your worldview could be. I believe we will 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 mentioned.
“We would like individuals to really feel delight in [their] nation, and we wish individuals 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 mentioned Jackpine is scrambling to determine a wholly Canadian provide chain that can contain unionized labour.
