About That Canadian Flag on my Backpack

I have a confession to make: There is a Canadian flag on my backpack. It’s not one of those postage stamp or business card-sized ones, either. As you can see in the photo, it’s closer to a large index card, or even a compact paperback. I super-glued it into place on my new pack when I was 20 years old, for no greater reason than that everyone else was doing it, and until recently I’ve never thought twice about it. Now, though, the times—and travel trends—are a-changing.

With Samuel Johnson’s famous definition of patriotism as “the last refuge of a scoundrel” ringing in my ears, I shame-facedly lean my pack face-first against walls in train stations. I pull the drawstrings down tight so the flag is obscured. I nod and smile in hostel common rooms while my bunkmates agree, less eloquently than Johnson, that patriotic gestures—and flags on backpacks, in particular—are totally lame.

In retrospect, in fact, it may never have been cool to put a maple leaf on your backpack. Rocker Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip and arbiter of all things both Canadian and cool, was calling flags on backpacks “nationalism gone astray” as early as 1993. He recently gained an ally in Jason Wilson, the series editor of the Best American Travel Writing anthologies. In this year’s foreword, Wilson calls the practice “sad.”

In my case, the most embarrassing thing about the situation is my own embarrassment. I don’t have any particular attachment to the flags-on-backpacks school of thought, so I don’t defend the practice. But on the other hand, I don’t have anything against it either, so I’m not going to risk defacing my pack trying to get the patch off. Meanwhile, my backpack has a lifetime warranty and isn’t showing any sign of slowing down after six years of steady use. I suppose this is one travel trend I’ll just have to try and ride out.

©2026 World Hum, All Rights Reserved