Ian Macnab says there’s a new craze sweeping across Haliburton County, one that he hopes will bolster Canadian spirit and pride.
Since March, the Haliburton village resident has been handing out free pins emblazoned with the Canadian flag. There’s no catch or hidden agenda he told The Highlander during a recent interview, only a desire for people to appreciate what they have living this side of the 49th parallel.
“As Canadians, we’re pretty low-key people… known for being very polite, always saying sorry, but we’ll stand up and push back when we have to,” Macnab said of his inspiration. “This whole business around Canada becoming the 51st state – everybody thinks it’s just an old man kidding around… but this is an opportunity for us to stand tall, take pride in who we are and say, collectively, that we are Canadian and darn proud of it.”
The pins first appeared during a trip to Mexico – wanting something that distinguished him as Canadian, not American, Macnab ordered a pack of 35 from Amazon. He and wife, Jane, each took one, with the pair handing some more out while on the trip.
After returning home, Macnab didn’t really have a plan for what to do with the rest. He didn’t want to leave them sitting in a box gathering dust, so started offering them to friends and family.
“They all thought it was great, saying I should keep doing it. So, I ordered even more,” Macnab said.
The new red-and-white movement landed in Haliburton village over the spring. Whether you’re shopping at Foodland, Rexall, or Home Hardware, visiting the bank, or enjoying a leisurely stroll along Highland Street, Macnab wagers his pins won’t be hard to find.
He figures he’s given about 300 away so far, with no plans to stop.
“If I’m in line with somebody I might tap them on the shoulder, strike up conversation and offer them a pin. It’s all about spreading positivity,” he said. “People are usually pretty surprised, taken aback, but once they realize it really is just a pin with the Canadian flag, they’re fine. I do warn people though, mostly staff at these places, that I do checkins!”
Anytime Macnab leaves home he makes sure to have a dozen or so pins in his pocket. He recently took some to his daughter in Prescott, a town of just over 4,000 people on the St. Lawrence River about 350 kilometres southeast of Haliburton.
“We took the kids out for ice cream, and I gave one to the lady at the shop. I gave some more to the kids to give to their teachers and friends,” Macnab said. “This isn’t a Haliburton thing, it’s a thing I’m doing anywhere I go.”
