Smile! Ontario man wants you to turn frowns upside down today and share it everywhere

A Stratford, Ont., man wants everyone to smile today and get the message out to others.

Bruce Duncan Skeaff, founder of the Stratford Pride Community Centre, said the past few weeks have been tough for people, especially after the province reintroduced pandemic restrictions set to last until at least Jan. 26. 

So on Saturday, he wants people to turn their frowns upside down.

"I think we should prove that it's more infectious than the coronavirus," he said in an interview.

While focused on the city he's in, Duncan Skeaff said anyone can take part.

He's encouraging you to use social media to post selfies of yourself smiling or use emojis to get the friendly facial expression across to others. With the post, add the hashtag #SmileStratford, or use a #Smile hashtag adding whatever city you're in. 

If you're not on social media, put a smiling face or picture in your windows, he said.

"I thought this was going to be a way of lifting people's spirits even for a day, and if we can't get together to do it in person, let's do it online," he said.

"Everybody in Ontario who was subjected to this could use a laugh right now I think, so anybody who wants to do Smile Goderich, Smile Kincardine, smiles anywhere, Windsor, Kingston, why not?"

Duncan Skeaff chose Saturday as his smile day because it's the midway point of the latest lockdown measures, which have closed indoor dining at restaurants, gyms and movie theatres for 21 days.

He said he felt the vaccine passport system was working. He had enjoyed going out for lunch or a beer after work and things felt "partly back to normal."

"And then suddenly, wham, it's all over," he said of Premier Doug Ford's announcement on Jan. 3 to return to a modified Step 2 of pandemic restrictions. "It felt like we were back to where we were a year ago. And I just saw everybody on their faces just destroyed because, you know, we thought, 'here we go again.'"

According to a wellness expert, there may be something behind Duncan Skeaff's efforts to raise spirits. 

CBC happiness and well-being columnist Jennifer Moss said encouraging smiling is beneficial because non-verbal facial cues help people make connections with each other.