He made the decision on impulse, but it sparked a movement. Mike Myers on elbows up 'We can love Americans and not want to be Americans,' actor tells CBC's Paul Hunter
For all in Canada who happened to be watching Saturday Night Live, that March night was an unforgettable moment.
Mike Myers, the one-time SNLer who'd performed in the opening skit as a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk, stood onstage with the rest of the cast at the end of the show as they all waved goodnight.
Then he did it.
As millions watched, the Toronto-born Myers opened his jacket to reveal a black T-shirt underneath bearing that red-and-white maple leaf flag and the phrase "CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE."
He then flexed his arm in the air, pointed at it and mouthed the words "elbows up," an old-time hockey term meant to signify punishing one's opponent. It happened as U.S. President Donald Trump's antagonistic threats to annex Canada were reaching their apex.
"It was just, 'Leave us alone,'" Myers told CBC News, explaining the shirt. "We love Americans. But we can love Americans and not want to be Americans, you know what I mean?"
The message was Myers's salute to everyone watching back home. Revealing it on live television was a spur-of-the-moment decision, he tells CBC News in his first on-camera interview about that night. He says he had no idea it would catch fire — let alone spark a wave of Canadian patriotism not seen in decades...
This Canada Day, we reclaimed our flag
...Somewhere along the way, the dissidents stole our flag.
You’ll remember this: The same people who broke the law by ignoring city bylaws and disrupting the peace for nearly a month proclaimed themselves Canadian “patriots.” They flew our flag from their trucks. They hung it over their encampments. By the end, many Canadians associated the red-and-white Maple Leaf with the so-called Freedom Convoy.
For a long time after, whenever you saw a truck going down the street bearing a Canadian flag, you likely thought: Freedom Convoy lover. Many of us were afraid to hang a flag outside our home on Canada Day for fear of being associated with the bunch who had occupied our capital and tried to bully our government.
Not any more.
Pride in this country is swelling....
This Canada Day, I am more thankful than ever that I have a Canadian passport. You just have to look around this crazy world to see that. Are things perfect? No. And they never will be. But we’re always striving for better.
Perhaps the best thing about this Canada Day is this: We have our flag back. May it never be hijacked again.
THIS IS CANADA
... today feels like a good time to step back and talk about what makes this country not just good, but truly remarkable.
Because despite our differences, despite the debates, despite the long road still ahead there’s one thing that continues to unite us: being Canadian.
And being Canadian means more than a flag or a border. It means believing that the world can be better, and doing our quiet part to help make it so....
Cole goes on to describe so many significant Canadian achievements, it makes me proud, its so inspirational - read the whole thing.
Spending ‘Canada Day’ here in Calgary with my family has been a new kind of joy. As we explore this beautiful place, I’m also taking time to teach my kids what today is really about.
Canada Day marks the anniversary of Confederation on July 1, 1867, when three British colonies came together to form the Dominion of Canada. The day was called Dominion Day until 1982, when Canada gained full control of its constitution and the name was officially changed.
But like many national holidays, there’s more to the story. This land has a much longer history—home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before 1867. For some, today is not a celebration but a reminder of colonization, loss, and ongoing resistance.
So while we enjoy fireworks and festivities, we’re also holding space for truth, reflection, and respect. That’s part of the journey too.
Today is Canada Day! 🇨🇦 One of Ukraine’s strongest supporters—training thousands of military personnel and providing military, humanitarian, and financial assistance. I truly began to appreciate Canada after it was verbally and economically attacked by Trump and refused to bow its head to appease him. Thank you for everything, Canada! 🇨🇦🇺🇦
By George 10 most favourite quotes on Canada
1. Canada was built on dead beavers. — Margaret Atwood
2. The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off it’s own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees. — June Callwood
3. The huge advantage of Canada is its backwardness. – Marshall McLuhan
4. Canada has never been a melting-pot; more like a tossed salad. — Arnold Edinborough
5. Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it’s doing in the Maritimes. — Tommy Douglas
6. Canadians are generally indistinguishable from Americans, and the surest way of telling the two apart is to make the observation to a Canadian. — Richard Staines
7. A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe. — Pierre Berton
8. Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world. — Sir Winston Churchill
9. In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect. — U.S. President Bill Clinton
10. When I’m in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like. — Jane Fonda
From the archives of the By George Journal: https://www.bygeorgejournal.ca/?p=2071#bygeorgejournal #CanadaDay2025
"By the end, many Canadians associated the red-and-white Maple Leaf with the so-called Freedom Convoy. For a long time after, whenever you saw a truck going down the street bearing a Canadian flag, you likely thought: Freedom Convoy lover." Sadly yes.
Worth repeating: "This Canada Day, we reclaimed our flag" Hurray
(But folks, please keep the flag-patriotism at home. No other nationality has the self-centered nationalism to display their flag when travelling abroad.)
No other nationality has to worry that if they don't show their flag, people will think they're Americans. It's not self-centered nationalism, it's self-defence.
6. Canadians are generally indistinguishable from Americans, and the surest way of telling the two apart is to make the observation to a Canadian. — Richard Staines We just passive aggressively assume we are better and to the world look identical. Foreign countries tell us apart by the Canucks usually being the loudest drunks. I always ask if the convoy clowns are looking for a new flag as we took ours back. The dictionary example of "false flag " operation that clownvoy.
3 comments:
"By the end, many Canadians associated the red-and-white Maple Leaf with the so-called Freedom Convoy.
For a long time after, whenever you saw a truck going down the street bearing a Canadian flag, you likely thought: Freedom Convoy lover." Sadly yes.
Worth repeating:
"This Canada Day, we reclaimed our flag" Hurray
(But folks, please keep the flag-patriotism at home. No other nationality has the self-centered nationalism to display their flag when travelling abroad.)
No other nationality has to worry that if they don't show their flag, people will think they're Americans. It's not self-centered nationalism, it's self-defence.
6. Canadians are generally indistinguishable from Americans, and the surest way of telling the two apart is to make the observation to a Canadian. — Richard Staines
We just passive aggressively assume we are better and to the world look identical.
Foreign countries tell us apart by the Canucks usually being the loudest drunks.
I always ask if the convoy clowns are looking for a new flag as we took ours back.
The dictionary example of "false flag " operation that clownvoy.
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