The walls of the Sat Gupta's flag store were once stocked with Canadian paraphernalia, but today, the Canadiana sits in boxes, reported The Canadian Press June 29. Instead, precedence is being given to the flags of 32 nations competing in the World Cup:

Spotting the unexpected countries is what Seth Feldman, director of York’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and a film professor in York’s Faculty of Fine Arts, loves most about the World Cup in Canada. “You don't expect to see as many Argentine flags as you do, or flags from the African countries, or Chilean flags, for that matter,” he said. “I always like that kind of mix that comes out of this.”

In Canada's large urban centres, Feldman said, there is more of an openness to accept multiculturalism than there is in other western nations, such as the United States. “You don't feel like you're betraying Canada by cheering for Italy or Argentina or Germany.”

There's also a simple reason for the lack of Canadian flags flapping around now, Feldman said. “It's just something about Canada not qualifying for the World Cup,” he said. “If Canada ever did, you'd see an awful lot of Canadian flags out.”

The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies promotes and supports interdisciplinary and discipline specific research pertinent to the study of Canada. Over the years the Centre has expanded to encompass a theme of "Canada in the World."

Republished courtesy of YFile– York University’s daily e-bulletin.