I was a Canadian university student in the UK in the early '70's. I travelled widely in Europe. The Canadian flag was being used by some Americans to the extent that it soon had the opposite effect of identifying the wearer as a Yank.  I was never flattered by the fact the our flag was being hijacked by people ashamed of their passport. In fact I was annoyed that 99% of these people had no clue about Canada beyond the flag. They could just as well have sewed a Smiley Face on their backpacks.