Canadians’ reserved response to Ottawa tragedy couldn’t be more patriotic: political scientist

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Canadians have now had two days to come to grips with Wednesday’s violent events in Ottawa. And it turns out we could see something really positive emerge from the tragedy.

David Moscrop, a political scientist with UBC, says this could inspire a surge of Canadian patriotism. But he admits ours is more stoic than other countries’ in a time of crisis.

“In the moment, it might seem a little less exciting but I think it’s also a little more constructive and complex. Ideally, I would like to see the country rally around the fact that we’re not going to be intimidated or scared into making unwise legislative changes. We’re not going to lock down the country because of an event like this.”

But Moscrop says just because we’re not as vocal, that doesn’t mean we’re not patriotic. “That’s the greatest kind of patriotism, to be able to look fear and uncertainty in the eye and say this actually won’t change who we are and what we do.”

Still, some Canadians are still choosing to wear their pride on the sleeve. Sales of Canadian flags spiked over the last two days at The Flag Shop in Gastown.

“People ask us promptly to send us flags before the weekend. Those are the standard size of flags that people are getting,” says Alex Braverman with the store.

“Also, a lot of people have been asking us about the proper way of discarding your flag because you can’t just throw a Canadian flag into the garbage. That’s pretty rude to your country,” she adds.

Corporal Nathan Cirillo was shot to death at the National War Memorial on Wednesday; the gunman then opened fire in the Parliament building. The shooter was killed.

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