A Celebration of Canada and a Protest Against Musk and Trump
While the approach of Canada Day in Ottawa is always marked by the appearance of flags — some of them quite large — on buildings, one apartment building in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood was off to an early and very noticeable start.
After President Trump started a tariff war against Canada, following his repeated calls for the country’s annexation, maple leaf flags gradually began taking over nearly all of the balconies of a modest apartment building. What distinguishes the display from the general enthusiasm for flags created by Mr. Trump is its location: The Sidney Towers Housing Co-operative looms over a Tesla showroom and service center. [Read: Rejecting Trump’s Call to Annex Their Nation, Canadians Rally Around the Flag] [Read: How Canadians Are Making Their Anger Toward the U.S. Loud and Clear] [Read: Canadians and Wayne Gretzky: Anatomy of a Relationship on Thin Ice] The subtle rebuke of Elon Musk, Mr. Trump’s former ally who repeatedly joined the president in dismissing Canada’s sovereignty, was the work of Graziana Marcantomo, a tailor who has a shop on the tower’s ground floor and an apartment several floors above. “Trump, the tariff and the insults and the whatnot, I don’t think we deserve that,” said Ms. Marcantomo, who emigrated from Italy. “So I got this idea, and I went to buy flags — Tesla is right here, next to us.” She started with just the center row of apartments in the seven-story building. Ms. Marcantomo didn’t just buy flags. She also sewed on cloth ties for fastening them to the balcony railings. When other residents whose apartments overlook the Tesla showroom asked if they could join in, Ms. Marcantomo continued to sew on the ties but asked everyone to chip in for the flags. As of Friday, only three apartments of the 24 units were flagless. One flag had sailed away in a storm. The resident of another unit has been away on an extended trip, and a third resident declined to hang a flag. Like many Tesla dealerships around the world, the neighboring one has attracted protests against Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. And because of that, and to Ms. Marcantomo’s great satisfaction, the building flags began appearing on television. Ms. Marcantomo was even interviewed on a local radio station, which drew more attention. Born to a Canadian mother, Mr. Musk moved to Canada after leaving South Africa and, according to his biographer, holds Canadian citizenship. Mr. Musk’s very public falling-out with the president does not seem to have affected his lack of popularity in Canada. Registrations of new Teslas fell by 90 percent during the first three months of this year in Quebec, the country’s largest market for electric vehicles. Transport Canada is also investigating four company-owned Tesla dealerships that reported having sold a seemingly impossible number of cars during a single weekend to claim tens of millions of dollars in subsidies. [Read: Four Tesla Dealers Said They Sold 8,653 Cars in 3 Days in Canada. Did They?]
Like many Canadians, Ms. Marcantomo said she believed that the resurgence of Canadian patriotism that was fired up by the president would elevate this year’s Canada Day celebrations across the country. Scattered around her small but very tidy shop were flag pins, flag buttons and one paper flag. While Canadians have held several anti-Trump demonstrations — including one outside the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa two weeks ago — my survey of Canada Day plans across the country suggests that it will be a Trump-free celebration of the nation rather than another round of protest. The sun and late-winter weather have caused the Sidney Towers flags to fade, and Ms. Marcantomo has only one replacement at the moment. It’s unclear if they will be renewed or removed. But she has definitely made her mind up about one thing. “I said to my sister, for a joke, everybody asks me: Are you going back to Italy?” Ms. Marcantomo said. “Well, if Canada is going to become the 51st state, I won’t accept that.” Trans Canada
Ian Austen reports on Canada for The Times based in Ottawa. He covers politics, culture and the people of Canada and has reported on the country for two decades. He can be reached at austen@nytimes.com. How are we doing? Like this email?
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