A Trump-hating Canadian couple who made a rival MAGA hat learned the hard way they wouldn’t be able to make the product without help from the US.
Liam Mooney and Emma Cochrane, of Ottawa, were watching Ontario Premier Doug Ford respond to Donald Trump’s wish of making Canada the US’ 51st state on Fox’s Jesse Watters Primetime when Ford responded that Canada is not for sale and an idea struck on January 8.
‘We thought: “We have to do some small act of patriotism to respond to this big bluster,”‘ Mooney told CBC.
Alas, the birth of the ‘Canada is Not for Sale’ hat was born, retailing for $45 USD. Beanies go for $40.
Originally, the couple planned on having the hat be entirely made in Canada, but quickly found out the hard way that that was impossible as the country’s textile industry is dying.
Their beanies are sourced from the US, while their ball caps are mainly imported from Vietnam, Bangladesh and China, according to CTV News.
The products are embroidered in Toronto, where they can produce around 1,000 hats a day.
‘The base hat itself we have had trouble finding a supply of baseball hats that are fully manufactured in Canada,’ Cochrane told CDC.
‘Imagine you’re a snake and you’re trying to consume a giant bowling ball. That’s what we’ve been experiencing here,’ Mooney told CTV.
‘We heard from a number of suppliers that it’s not actually something that people come to them with as a request very, very often, because it’s just so much cheaper to make it overseas.’
For weeks now, the couple have approached textile and apparel companies to help them find ways to make the hat fully Canadian-made, but the cost to do so is high and they didn’t think they’d get the demand they did.
The couple do have some hats that are completely made in Canada, but don’t have a long-term solution for it, they told CTV News.
The hats are made-to-order when it comes to embroidery and shipped out of Toronto.
Mooney and Cochrane are still searching for a completely Canadian-made hats for a long-term solution, they told CTV.
Since launching their website, they have been inundated with tens of thousands of orders from Canadians who are proud to say their country won’t be absorbed into their southern neighbor.
The President of Shopify Harley Finkelstein and Ford have since purchased their own Canada is Not for Sale hats, which the latter later being pictured wearing it. The hats are available to purchase on Shopify, which is based out of Ottawa.
Mooney and Cochrane also admitted their red hat is supposed to mimic Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again hats.
Mooney told Reuters he designed the hats as a creative rebuttal to President Trump’s rhetoric, aiming to cut through political discourse with a message of nationalism and unity.
‘It’s an opportunity to bring people together from all of civil society, regardless of political persuasion,’ Mooney said.
Tariffs would cripple Canada’s economy and also raise the price of oil and other goods in the United States.
Trump is threatening tariffs at a time of political turmoil in Canada, with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau set to resign in March after nearly a decade in power and the opposition conservatives leading in the polls ahead of a federal election later this year.
Trump, speaking via video to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, said he demanded respect from Canada. He has previously addressed Trudeau as ‘Governor.’
‘Our sovereignty is threatened when our dignity is disrespected,’ Mooney told Reuters. ‘We have allies and we have friends all around the world who are ready to rise to the call and defend us and join in.’