Sydney Seggie, co-owner of Fellow Earthlings sunglasses in Guernsey Cove, had an “oh my gosh” moment when she saw a photo of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing a brand of sunglasses from her business.
“It really couldn’t be better,” said Seggie, who started the business near Murray Harbour with her husband Chris in 2014.
But this isn’t the first time Trudeau was spotted wearing the vintage, leather covered aviator sunglasses called The Canadian. The sunglasses were manufactured at the former Tannereye factory in Charlottetown and acquired by Seggie’s business, which also manufactures sunglasses in a two-storey workshop next to their home.
This summer when P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan and members of his staff were touring businesses in eastern parts of the province, Seggie let them know that she wanted to give the Prime Minister a pair of sunglasses for him and his wife Sophie.
When Trudeau visited P.E.I. in late June, he was given the sunglasses.
“We saw one picture of him wearing them here on the Island when he had been given them, and I said at the time that must be as good as it could ever get.”
However, shortly after, she saw another photo of Trudeau wearing the sunglasses leaving the Ottawa airport for Ireland prior to the G20 summit in Germany.
Again, she thought it couldn’t get any better.
“He’s probably lost them at this point,” she said laughing.
But last Thursday, Trudeau was photographed again wearing the sunglasses getting off an airplane in Vietnam.
“I was like ‘oh my gosh!’,” said Seggie. “It happened all over again. He must really like them because it’s not the only time.”
Seggie, originally from Charlottetown, did a bit of homework and learned that Trudeau wore 58-millimetre Ray-Band sunglasses. Given that, she thought it would be a natural transition to The Canadian brand.
“My dream was to get The Canadian on the most fameous Canadian of all,” she said.
“It’s a very cool for P.E.I. because it’s a very interesting part of P.E.I. history and culture.”
