OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will be more focused on cheering team Canada than booing the U.S. national anthem when both countries’ hockey teams face off on the ice for the 4 Nations final game on Thursday evening.
The tournament — which brought together players from Canada, the U.S., Finland and Sweden — will see Canada and the U.S. compete for the second time amid an increasingly tense relationship between both countries due to threats of tariffs and annexation from the U.S.
In a post on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be unable to attend the finals in person but that he would be watching and cheering on his country’s team, adding that if “Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome.”
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not immediately say where he would be watching the game.
The final game will be taking place in Boston starting at 8 p.m. Last Saturday, the U.S. team beat the Canadians 3-1 in Montreal. Ahead of the game, hockey fans loudly booed the U.S. national anthem before passionately belting out their best rendition of O Canada.
Poilievre was at the game in Montreal with his family. Asked on Thursday if he thought Canadians should be booing the U.S. anthem during sports events, he didn’t endorse the idea.
“I would focus on cheering on Canadians. I want Canadians to win,” he said during a news conference in Toronto. “I enjoyed the game. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the outcome.”
Poilievre, who attended Saturday’s face-off with his wife Anaida and his three-year old son Cruz, who was attending his first hockey game, joked that his retirement plan is for his son to become an NHL hockey player so “we wanted to get him started early on that.”
Poilievre then reminded Canadians to direct their anger in a more targeted way.
“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,” he told reporters. “Let’s focus on building our own country up,” he added.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, speaking on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference, had a less diplomatic message in response to Canadians booing his country’s national anthem.
Speaking to the U.S. hockey team, Vance said “we’d like you to kick their asses again, because you don’t boo the United States of America.”
“And to Canada, if you guys don’t win, the tariffs are even higher,” he added.
“No, I’m kidding. That’s the president’s decision.”
In an interview with the National Post, U.S. Congressman Tim Kennedy, who represents the district of Buffalo, New York, said Canadians booing his country’s anthem is “sad” and he wished “it wouldn’t be happening” but said he understands why they are so angry.
“It is an emotional reaction to what the President of the United States is doing to harm our relationship with Canada,” he said.
Kennedy, one of many Democrats who is pushing back against Trump’s threats of tariffs, noted that the Buffalo Sabres will usually play both the U.S. and Canadian national anthems before every home game, whether their opponent is Canadian or not.
He said Buffalo’s hockey team does it “out of respect for our Canadian friends and neighbours, and we’re going to continue to do that.”
Kennedy also said there are in his view many more Americans that “cherish” their relationship with their northern neighbours and are rejecting Trump’s “nonsensical approach” which consists of threatening new tariffs on Canada every few days.
“Hopefully, Canadians will recognize that we’re still the same friends.”
National Post
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