Victoria artist creates ‘Take Back your Flag’ sticker

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After weeks of convoy protests descending on the B.C. Legislature, Victoria-based graphic artist Victor Crapnell says he decided it was time to create a design with a positive message about the Canadian flag.

“It really started to bother me that our beautiful flag was hijacked by a small group of very vocal, vocal people with an anti-Canada message,” Crapnell said Tuesday.

For weeks, a convoy of vehicles drove to and around the legislature, draping their vehicles in the Canadian flag to identify themselves as part of the anti-vaccine mandate movement.

Crapnell decided to create a sticker prompting people to reclaim the Canadian flag.

“It’s a round sticker with a large Canadian flag crushing a semi-tractor trailer with some people standing around, as if to go, like, what happened? And the text on the sticker reads “Canada, take back your flag.”

The response has been overwhelming after Crapnell was featured in a column in the Times Colonist.

For now, he’s giving them away.

“I’ve received a ton of ton of emails and I’m gonna be mailing them out,” he said.

While unpacking boxes of Canadian Flags, The Flag Shop owner Paul Servos says business is picking up, despite closing the shop whenever the convoys appeared in town.

“We’re pretty optimistic, and we’re pretty sure there is going to be great level of pride for Canada Day,” he said.

“We did not want a group of anti-vaxxers coming in here, and buying Canadian flags to be misused in their purpose. So we were very assertive in saying no, this is wrong.”

But now Servos says it’s time for locals to reclaim the Canadian flag, and his shop is ready.

“I have boxes of them, hoping that we’re going to have a good Canada Day this year. And we’re hopeful that we’re going to see people be proud of Canada and Canadians, and drown out their message.”

While the convoys appear to have run out of gas, Crapnell and Servos aim to promote the flag as a symbol of what it means to be Canadian.

READ MORE: Convoy against COVID mandates descends on B.C. Legislature once again

Mary GriffinMary Griffin

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