Winnipeg shoppers making effort to show true patriot love at the cash register

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/04/2025 (274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Elbows Up,” “Canada is Already Great” and “Made in Canada” shirts line the front of the store.

T-Shirt Connection’s patriotic items, including “Canada is Not for Sale” caps, are still the most popular items for sale.

Customer demand for Canadian-made and Canadian-themed products remains strong after U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state and his administration’s imposition of tariffs on a range of products produced north of the border.

Maria McDowell, who owns T-Shirt Connection on Taylor Avenue, said she’s never sold so many Canadian-themed shirts and is getting a lot of requests for custom-made designs.

“We are selling a lot of “Elbows Up” merchandise,” said McDowell. “We got flooded by emails and phone calls. We had to order so many blank shirts for that alone.”

She said business is about 15 per cent better than it is normally at this time of year.

The Flag Shop on Osborne Street has seen increases in the number of people visiting the store and in sales over the past couple of months.

“Our walk-in traffic has gone up drastically,” Samantha Hobson said. “Most folks are talking about how they never thought about having a flag on their house before, and how important it is to show their Canadian pride now.”

Previously, most of the shop’s sales were to schools and municipalities, she said. But business has been so brisk that stock had to be reordered several weeks ago.

“We were continually bringing in stock… we had lists made of folks that were waiting,” she said.

Related Articles

Patriotic pride, anger on display

Sorry not sorry: Restaurants revamp decor, menus to showcase Canadian ties

Fuelled by patriotism, more Canadians will head to the ballot box this time around

Kinew waves flag at Selkirk steel mill, orders province to buy, build Canadian

Price vs. patriotism: How to shop Canadian without blowing your budget

Looking for the leaf: Companies alter labels to attract Canadians at grocery stores

Trump's trade war adds new dimension to ballot box issue of affordability American purchases catch some retailers ‘off guard’ as local movement aims to secure footing

Made in Manitoba: A guide to locally produced goods

Winnipeg companies trumpet Canadian ownership amid U.S. trade war

Manitoba says no to some U.S. bidders, but Tories say U.S. firms still getting work

Hobson said the store recently stocked “Elbows Up” flags featuring a red background with the outline of an elbow inside a maple leaf in white.

She said she expects there will be higher-than-average sales until Canada Day.

The surge in support goes beyond Canadiana; people are also looking for a variety of items produced and manufactured north of the 49th parallel.

Roger Boone said he looks at labels when buying groceries and tries to shop as Canadian as he can.

“We’ve got to support Canadian products and Canadian-owned,” the 80-year-old said outside St. Vital Centre.

He said it’s also about rejecting American products.

“I was wanting to buy oranges at Sobeys, they were on sale. They were from the U.S., and then a couple rows down I see some from India, so I bought (the ones from India),” he said. “Otherwise, I would have gone without my oranges.”

Retailers are trying to make it easier to determine what comes from where. Gabrielle LaPlume, 20, also said she’s trying to buy Canadian as much as she can afford to.

“If it has one of those little Canadian flags, I try to buy that first,” LaPlume said, adding prices factor in to her decisions.

“Unfortunately, if the Americans got it a little cheaper, I might have to go for them.”

LaPlume said she never used to look at labels when buying things, but she’s doing that a lot now.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca