Vancouver pub owner takes action with paint after 'Never 51' Canadian flag vandalized

Nasser Nabahat was disheartened to see what had become of the Canadian flag he put up outside his East Vancouver pub to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada and make it the 51st state.

Nabahat, who owns the Ivanhoe Pub on Main Street, said he hung a flag that read “Never 51” outside his business in February.

“We had very good feedback from Vancouver, from our neighbours and community,” he told Daily Hive.

Ivanhoe Pub/Facebook

But on Tuesday, Nabahat said he was shocked to see that the flag was vandalized, and he believes someone climbed up the side of the building and cut out a large piece of it.

“I find it very awkward, especially we are in Canada and I am in my own country and I cannot protest invaders,” said Nabahat, referring to Trump’s threats.

Ivanhoe Pub/Facebook

The pub owner said he was relieved that the vandal didn’t cut up the whole flag, just the portion that read “51”.

He took it into his own hands to climb up a ladder on Tuesday and paint the “51” on the brick wall of the building.

“This way nobody can can [take] it down.”

Ivanhoe Pub/Facebook

Nabahat, who has owned the pub since 2010, says he feels that some of his fellow Canadians are in “sleeping mode” and aren’t taking Trump’s annexation threats as seriously as they should.

“This guy is mean, he’s serious… I’m afraid that if it continues like that, we may lose our country.”

Aside from his “Never 51” flag, Nasser has also taken action against the U.S. inside his pub.

“We put a note on our Budweiser that [customers shouldn’t] dare to ask for it,” he laughed.

“We do have a few kegs of Budweiser in our line, which I’m not ordering anymore. We stopped ordering them. We are ordering mainly from Molson Canadian,” he said.

In the coming days, Nasser plans to put up more flags at the pub to show his patriotism.

“I’m ordering more flags that say ‘Canada is not for sale.’ As soon as I get them, I will put them out.”