A Canadian entrepreneur says he hasn’t slept much in the last few days, describing the experience as a “a very wild ride” after his company’s “Canada is not for sale” hat was worn by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Ford was pictured wearing a dark blue “Canada is not for sale” hat before a key meeting with other premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday. Ford also thanked the hat makers on X that day.
THANK YOU PREMIER!!! https://t.co/Epc3BvqvWD
— canada is not for sale (@CAnotforsale) January 15, 2025
Before Ford wore the hat, nearly 100 hats were sold, Liam Mooney, founder and CEO of Ottawa-based Jackpine Dynamic Branding, said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Friday.
Sales now have been “absolutely gangbusters,” Mooney said. “We’re shipping next week to Canadians, coast to coast to coast, around the world, across the United States. It’s been absolutely amazing.”
He estimates that his design and branding firm has sold more than 20,000 hats, noting it’s hard to keep up with exact figures as orders are still pouring in.
“Tens of thousands of hats have been flying off our shelves,” Mooney said, describing it as “a very wild ride.”
For the past few days, he said he has been inundated with texts, emails and phone calls.
“I just got a text that there’s someone interested in a very large order,” Mooney said. “We have to get through our emails. There’s lots of requests from folks that want 1,000 hats, 4,000 hats, 400 hats, dozens of hats.”
With the surge in orders in the last three days, he said his company is working to ramp up production next week to handle the thousands of orders.
Beyond Ford, Mooney said the hat has gained fans from town mayors and social media influencers to Shopify president Harley Finkelstein and leaders from notable companies.
‘Our amazing country’
Orders are mostly from Canada, he said, but they are also coming from places such as the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
Mooney believes people, especially Canadians, are drawn to the hat because it inspires unity and pride as Canada faces threats of tariffs and comments about annexation from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.
“It’s bringing people together at a time where we’ve got big blusters from our most important neighbour and partner,” Mooney said. “It’s an opportunity for us to unite and remember and remind ourselves and the world why Canada is so awesome.
“And I think really at the end of the day, people want to make a very clear and simple statement that Canada is not for sale, and that they love our amazing country.”
Hat’s origins
Mooney said he and his fiancee Emma Cochrane, who helps him run his design firm, were inspired to make the hat after Ford appeared on the “Jesse Watters Primetime” Fox News show on Jan. 7 to defend Canada.
Mooney said he felt Watters was “disrespectful” after the Fox News host said it would be a privilege to be taken over by the United States, referring to Trump’s suggestion that Canada could become a 51st state.
“It was a … creative rebuttal to President Trump and his rhetoric and style, and we just wanted to meet the challenge head on,” Mooney said.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond
