The RCMP's Stetson is 'iconic' Canadiana. It's also made in America
OTTAWA — Go to any event featuring RCMP in ceremonial dress, and you're bound to see Mounties wearing the red serge, blue and yellow breeches, a Sam Browne belt, brown Strathcona boots, and a wide-brimmed, beige Stetson.
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The hat, nicknamed the 'red Stetson,' has appeared as part of the RCMP uniform on stamps, posters, promotional videos and even documentaries. It is a core piece of the Mounties' iconic image and an internationally recognizable piece of Canadiana.
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On its website, the B.C. RCMP boast that no other element of the Mountie uniform 'has the mystique of the Stetson hat,' apart from maybe the red serge. The RCMP's official page on the Stetson also notes that the hat is Canadian from its inception as it is 'exclusively crafted by the Biltmore Stetson Canada Company in Guelph, Ontario.'
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Except that the Biltmore Stetson Canada Company plant in Guelph shut down in early 2012 after it was purchased by Dorfman-Pacific (now Dorfman Milano), according to the Guelph Mercury newspaper.
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Since then, the iconic Canadian hat has been built at the Dorfman plant — in Garland, Texas.
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'Absolutely, I believe that they should be manufactured in Canada,' says Holly Allen, general manager and head of millinery design at Smithbilt Hats, a Calgary-based manufacturer that makes the traditional 'white hat' given to visitors during the Calgary Stampede.
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The Stetson appears to be the only part of the RCMP uniform that is not made in Canada. For example, the red serge is manufactured in Quebec, the boots are made by the Alberta Boot company, and bidding on a 2015 contract for RCMP breeches was 'conditionally limited to Canadian Goods. '
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In a statement, Erica Prince, RCMP deputy director of communications, suggested that the RCMP was not aware of the wrong information on its webpage about the Stetson until the inquiry by the National Post.
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She said the webpage had not been updated in a long time and that the date of the update was due to aesthetic changes to the website.
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'We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and have flagged the page for review,' Prince said in an emailed reply.
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