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Winnipeg’s deputy mayor is calling on businesses across the city to prominently display the Canadian flag.
Markus Chambers, the councillor for St. Norbert-Seine River, says the initiative intends to show national unity at a time when he says Canada’s sovereignty is being challenged by a trade war with the United States.
Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. broke down last week. Prime Minister Mark Carney said over the weekend that the deal proposed by the U.S. would have encroached on Canada’s ability to pursue trade agreements with other countries, threatened Canadian industries and undermined protections for the French language.
Chambers says his initiative, which he calls “Operation Naked Flag Pole,” encourages businesses, local Business Improvement Zones and chambers of commerce to take part in the coming weeks.
He says Winnipeg could set an example for other Canadian cities, with the goal of seeing the initiative spread nationally. He is also calling for the city’s downtown flagpoles to be adorned with Canadian flags.
Businesses and residents interested in participating are being asked to contact Chambers’s office.