Islanders fly Canadian flag with pride on its 60th anniversary

On the 60th anniversary of the Canadian red-and-white Maple Leaf flag, some Prince Edward Islanders say the tense relationship between Canada and the U.S. has inspired them to put their national pride on display. 

The Gallery Coffee House and Bistro in downtown Charlottetown celebrated Flag Day for the first time by flying two Canadian flags outside. 

"We're so proud to be part of this great country that we're happy to show that," said Jessica Fritz, who owns the local business with her husband. 

Amid ongoing tensions with the U.S., Canadians across the country are uniting around the flag. 

In a joint statement this week, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper urged Canadians to fly the flag with pride as "never before" this Saturday on Flag Day.

"We are standing strong with the people of Canada," Fritz said. 

The way Canadians have been uniting around the flag is "a real positive about this moment," said Christopher Griffin, artist in residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College. 

"I haven't seen anything like this before. It makes me proud to be Canadian." 

Griffin celebrated Flag Day by flying a flag from an elephant sculpture he created out of snow.

"I just thought it was the perfect union of these two symbols," he said. 

Griffin has a history of creating artwork inspired by elephants. 

"I never treat it with the symbolism of a certain party down south, but I can't ignore that either and it's kind of appropriate to have a Canada flag on an elephant," he said. 

While the elephant piece was inspired by flag day, Griffin said he's also working on an art series called O'Canada, which is based on lyrics of the Canadian national anthem and features iconic Canadian animals. 

Griffin said he was inspired by the U.S. presidential inauguration and "the disrespect that has been shown to Canada."