With phrases of defiance from Canadians ranging from “Canada is not for sale” to “elbows up” becoming rallying cries on this side of the border, Niagara-on-the-Lake resident David Scott wants to show his support in an overtly positive way.
His choice is to start and promote a new slogan: “Canada G.O.A.T.,” which stands for “greatest of all time.”
It’s an acronym often used to rank the historical greatness of elite athletes, but here, it signifies Canada as being the greatest country of all time.
Scott has a long history of charitable work. He helped run a series of fundraisers at the Cherry Hill Golf Club for more than 30 years, which raised more than $1 million.
Given the situation with U.S. President Donald Trump, Scott thought it would be a good idea to get his creative fundraising ideas out again.
He is creating and ordering the shirts while his niece is helping to print and deliver the shirts. Seven other surviving members of the fundraising group have also been promoting the shirts.
Scott hopes these pale blue shirts, meant to resemble the colour of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with dark blue letters and a Canadian flag, will ultimately be a positive expression of being Canadian.
The T-shirts cost $35 each. Besides supporting the country, the T-shirt sale will also help out people in the Niagara region.
“Canadian pride is the number one thing,” said Scott. “It’s also about supporting food banks … It’s a win-win.”
A portion of the proceeds will go to three food banks: Project Share in Niagara Falls, Community Care in St. Catharines and Newark Neighbours in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The charities in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines will get $10 each from a T-shirt sold to someone outside NOTL, while Newark Neighbours will get $20 from each T-shirt sold to someone in town.
Scott said he’s already sold a couple of dozen T-shirts.
With Canada Day just around the corner, Scott said the timing is appropriate for his endeavour, but he wants the T-shirt’s message to last a long time past that.
“It’s not just for Canada Day,” he said.
The “Canada G.O.A.T.” T-shirt can be purchased at scottfam.org/canadagoat.
