Giant Canadian flag carved into frozen B.C. lake in patriotic display

A group of residents in B.C.’s Okanagan region spent hours in the cold, meticulously sculpting a patriotic display.

The result is a frozen Canadian flag carved into the snow on Ellison Lake, just north of Kelowna.

Measuring just under 100 metres by 25 meters, the display — big enough to be seen by airplanes flying to and from the nearby Kelowna airport — came from resident Stuart Sutton who mapped out the project using his home tape measure.

He was joined over the course of two days by about a dozen friends and neighbours who helped make the idea a reality.

“We want to maintain and retain our heritage and our way of life that we’ve built over the years,” he said of why so many people were so dedicated to seeing the project through.

They were joined Saturday by dozens of people who came out to the ice to sing “O Canada” for a Flag Day that was marked by patriotic ceremonies across the country.

WATCH | Singing ‘O Canada’ on a frozen Canadian flag: 

People gathered at the display to sing ‘O Canada’ to mark Flag Day.

The events were encouraged by a call from all five of Canada’s living prime ministers to “show the flag as never before” as the country contends with “threats and insults from Donald Trump” in the forms of both tariffs and talk of making Canada into the 51st state.

A recent Angus Reid poll recorded an average increase in national pride across Canada of nine points, from 58 per cent in December to 67 per cent in February. A recent survey from Leger also found an uptick in respondents saying they were proud to be Canadian.

That sentiment was echoed by Maggie Graham, who was in the chilly crowd Saturday, waving Canada’s iconic maple leaf flag from the ice.

“We are very proud to be Canadians, and with everything going on in the world right now, we are even more appreciative that we are Canadians.”