Elbows Up! Saskatchewan village in the heart of the Prairies lives up to its name

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 10:41 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The motion astatine the village's entranceway says "Elbow Welcomes You" and, indeed, Joan Soggie wants each Canadian to sojourn her hometown to propulsion immoderate elbows.

On Friday, Soggie and tiny but patriotic contingent of Elbow locals held an "Elbows Up" rally to enactment and animate the newfound nationalist unity sweeping the state arsenic it tangles with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to marque Canada the 51st state.

About 350 radical unrecorded successful the Village of Elbow, near the community's namesake crook successful the South Saskatchewan River and astir 135 kilometres southbound of Saskatoon.

"The concern close present successful the satellite with the United States and with Trump, it feels similar it's a clip that we each person to truly propulsion unneurotic and we request thing similar this to springiness america immoderate symbols to use," Soggie said aft the rally.

"I deliberation everybody successful Canada should travel and person their representation taken here."

About 15 radical — mostly decked successful red-and-white wintertime cogwheel and different Maple Leaf swag — braved the unfastened prairie's acold wind to instrumentality photos of each different throwing elbows successful beforehand of the village's invited sign.

Soggie says she was inspired to signifier the lawsuit aft her girl told her astir attending a ample "Elbows Up, Canada!" rally successful Ottawa.

The question launched aft Canadian histrion Mike Myers aft helium mouthed the words "elbows up" and tapped his near elbow connected portion credits rolled connected a caller occurrence of Saturday Night Live. The slogan is apt inspired by Saskatoon hockey legend Gordie Howe, nicknamed Mr. Elbows for his wont of punishing opponents with his crisp elbows.

Soggie, who has lived successful Elbow for 61 years, fears tariffs and an extended commercialized warfare volition wounded farmers and tiny businesses successful Elbow and different adjacent communities successful the centre of province's atom belt.

"I don't deliberation there's immoderate assemblage that's not going to beryllium touched," Soggie said. "It affects everybody. And too that, we each person adjacent associations with radical successful the United States. Many of america person household determination and it's precise worrisome."

Soggie made definite to measure the rally arsenic a non-partisan, family-friendly lawsuit truthful it didn't exclude anyone. She says it's astir much than politics.

"We thought Elbow, Saskatchewan is a cleanable spot to beryllium the epicentre of Elbows Up," she said.