‘LAWNMOWER MAN’ GETS A FLOAT IN HIS TOWN’S PARADE.

The man who spat in the face of Mother Nature and stole Canada’s heart has been honoured with his very own parade float.

Theunis Wessels, more commonly known by his alter ego “Lawnmower Man,” rode on a float in the Canada 150 parade in Three Hills, Alta. on Saturday.

The float proudly proclaimed the town of 3,200 as the “Home of Lawnmower Man.” His catchphrase — “I’m keeping an eye on it” — was emblazoned across the back.

Wessels said the staff from the local Kneehill Historical Museum asked him to march in the parade last week. He immediately agreed, and they built the float for him. A couple of staffers trailed the float, pushing lawnmowers of their own.

“It was probably not the best float, but everybody talked about it and everybody waved, from young to old,” he said. “It was great, man.”

Three Hills Mayor Tim Shearlaw said he had no idea Wessels would be in the parade — Shearlaw marched at the front, and found out about Lawnmower Man’s presence only afterwards.

“I grinned and said, ‘Hey, lookit — we got the Lawnmower Man!’ It was pretty cool,” he said.

Shearlaw said his office has fielded international attention because of Wessels’ antics.

“I’ve received newspaper clippings from Germany and calls from England and the United States saying, ‘Hey, we saw that lawnmower man in our newspaper,’ ” he said.

Wessels and his wife, Cecilia, moved to Three Hills from South Africa seven years ago for a work opportunity, and fell in love with the place.

He rose to fame in early June when his wife snapped a picture of him casually mowing their backyard in shorts and a T-shirt while an enormous tornado swirled in the distance.

The theme of last Saturday’s parade, according to Three Hills’ website, was “Country Strong 150,” and Wessels agreed nothing fit the theme better than ignoring a tornado while doing yard work.

“So many people say, ‘That’s just the true Canadian way,’ ” he said.

For now, Wessels is making the most of his 15 minutes of fame. He recently made an appearance at a fundraiser for a swim club, where he took selfies with the kids, and lent the photo to a local clothing company that wanted to use it on some T-shirts. He said a customer even asked him to sign one of the shirts.

In fact, people constantly stop him in the street and ask for a photo or autograph.

“In the beginning it was just a joke but more and more people are asking for it. And they just say, ‘Thank you, thank you for what you are doing. Not everything is bad.’ And I think that’s what Canada is for,” he said.