Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has encouraged Canadians at the 4 Nations final hockey game to focus more on cheering on their country than booing the United States national anthem over its president’s threat of tariffs.
“I would focus on cheering on Canadians. I want Canadians to win,” Poilievre said on Feb. 20 when asked about the game to be held later that night.
“I would just encourage everyone to remember that our disagreement is not with the American people, it’s with the American president’s unjustified threats of tariffs, and let’s focus on building our own country up.”
The tournament that involves Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden will see Canada and the United States face off for the second time in Boston at 8:00 p.m. EST. During the first game between the two countries in Montreal on Feb. 15, Canadians loudly booed the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” before the Canadian team went on to lose 3–1. Some American fans also booed the Canadian anthem during a game between Canada and Finland on Feb. 17 in Boston, although the booing wasn’t as strong as the one in Canada.
The Feb. 15 Montreal game also began with three separate fights in the first nine seconds, with American Matthew Tkachuk facing Brandon Hagel at the opening faceoff, his brother Brady Tkachuck then fighting Sam Bennett, and American J.T. Miller taking on Canadian Colton Parayko after that.
Poilievre added that he had been at the Montreal game with his wife Anaida and 3-year-old son Cruz. “It was his first in-person hockey game … My retirement plan is for little Cruz to become an NHL hockey player, so we wanted to get him started early on that,” he joked.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his son Xavier also attended the Montreal game.
The trend of Canadians booing the American anthem started in response to U.S. President Donald Trump threatening 25 percent tariffs on Canada, and repeatedly musing that it should become the 51st state.
Trump once again mentioned the idea in a Truth Social post on Feb. 20, saying he wished the American hockey team good luck against Canada, “which with far lower taxes and much stronger security, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
While Trump personally called the U.S. team to wish them luck, he said he would be unable to attend the game due to a speech before U.S. governors in Washington, D.C. “But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” he said.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance also touched on the upcoming game at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 20, where he cheered on his team and said the Canadian team should be beat “because you don’t boo the United States of America.”
“And to Canada, if you guys don’t win, the tariffs are even higher,” Vance added. “No, I’m kidding. That’s the president’s decision.”
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty also reacted to Trump’s comments about the hockey game, saying it “sounds like President Trump’s worried about the outcome of the hockey game tonight.” McGuinty also said Trump’s rhetoric about Canada being absorbed into the United States is “a non-starter.”
“Canada is a sovereign and independent country, has been for over 150 years, and will remain so,” he said. “We acknowledge the concerns that have been brought to our attention by the new administration, and we’re working hand in glove to try to wrestle them to the ground.”
McGuinty had just announced that Ottawa would be listing seven transnational criminal organizations in Central and South America as terrorist entities, mirroring a move made by the United States on Feb. 20. Canada has been attempting to bolster border security in response to Trump’s tariff threats, as the president initially cited illegal immigration and drug smuggling as his reason for announcing the measures against both Canada and Mexico.
