Ottawa (Rajeev Sharma): As trade friction with the U.S. heats up, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is urging Canadians and Americans to stop booing each other’s national anthems, a sentiment at odds with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s acceptance of the behavior as a response to new U.S. tariffs.
During a Tuesday press briefing, Ford addressed the fallout from a 25 percent tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that morning, detailing Ontario’s next steps. While he acknowledged the anger sparked by the trade measures, Ford stressed the importance of civility. “Let’s keep the national anthems out of it,” he implored. “Boo the calls on the ice or the field if you want, but booing the American anthem—or ours in the U.S.—that’s going too far.”
Ford’s plea came on the heels of Trudeau’s own press conference, where the prime minister offered a contrasting view. Trudeau framed the booing of the U.S. anthem as an understandable outlet for Canadian dismay over Trump’s policies. “Don’t expect the booing to stop anytime soon,” he told reporters. “To Americans, it’s not personal—not your people or your players. It’s a protest against a policy that’s hitting us hard. We’re mad, we’re offended, but we’re Canadian—so we’ll unite, push back, and prevail.”
The anthem disputes have flared at recent cross-border events, notably during the WWE Elimination Chamber in Toronto last weekend, where Canadian fans vocally rejected the U.S. anthem. Amid the trade war backdrop, Ford also stood up for hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who has faced social media flak for his Trump connections, dismissing the criticism as unwarranted.
