Canadian sports fans booed the US national anthem at basketball and ice hockey games over the weekend in response to US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs.
The jeers came during an NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, and NHL matches between Canadian teams and US visitors in Ottawa and Alberta on Saturday.
Trump’s announcement on Saturday declared a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on Chinese imports. Energy imports from Canada, such as oil and gas, will face a lower 10% tariff.
In retaliation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum imposed tariffs on US goods.
At the Raptors-Clippers game in Toronto, fans initially cheered a 15-year-old girl singing the anthems, but booed during the US national anthem. Mixed cheers and boos followed before the crowd applauded the Canadian anthem, “O Canada.”
The same happened on Sunday during a Canucks-Red Wings game in Vancouver, with fans booing the US anthem.
Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, born in New York, said, “It’s too bad, but I guess you can understand it. It’s going around the league.”
While rare, booing the US anthem has occurred before in Canada, notably in the early 2000s during the Iraq War.
Trump, on his Truth Social platform, reiterated his call for Canada to become a US state, claiming the US subsidises Canada with “hundreds of billions of dollars.” He added, “Without this subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable country.”
His comments followed Trudeau’s announcement of 25% retaliatory tariffs on $155 billion worth of US imports. Trudeau said, “We’re not looking to escalate, but we will stand up for Canada,” warning that the tariffs would have “real consequences” for US citizens.
