Poilievre said the focus should be on ‘cheering on Canadians.’ Meanwhile, Ford recently said, ‘Boo the referee. Boo the players if you want. Do not boo the American national anthem’
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney are defending Canadians who booed the American anthem.
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Most recently, Joly spoke to BBC’s Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire in a video interview after Trudeau addressed the nation on Tuesday about tariffs implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump. The 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods imported into the United States went into effect on March 4. The tariffs, along with Trump’s rhetoric about Canada, have led to tensions between the two countries.
In Joly’s interview, she said she takes Trump’s words about him wanting Canada to become the 51st state “very seriously.”
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“This is not a joke anymore,” she said. “This is not something we laugh at.”
When asked whether or not she found it offensive that Trump referred to Trudeau as “governor,” Joly had some choice words to say.
“Listen, we had enough with this rhetoric,” she responded. “No Canadians now are having fun with this. And there’s a reason why, Canadians, when they go to a hockey game, are booing the American national anthem.”
She clarified that the booing was not targeted at the American people.
“We’re the best friends of the American people,” she said, adding that Canadians have friends and family south of the border.
“What Canadians are sending as a message to the Trump administration is that we don’t agree. We’re insulted. We’re mad. We’re angry. That’s enough. So we will retaliate. We’ll use our economic strength.”
Trudeau seemed to echo Joly’s views on the matter. In his speech in Ottawa on March 4, he said that “Canadians are hurt.”
“Canadians are angry. We’re going to choose to not go on vacation in Florida or Old Orchard Beach or wherever. We’re going to choose to try to buy Canadian products and forego bourbon and other classic American products,” he said. “And yeah, we’re probably going to keep booing the American anthem.”
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We’re booing a policy that is designed to hurt us
Justin Trudeau
He added: “But let me tell Americans, we’re not booing you. We’re not booing your teams. We’re not booing your players. We’re booing a policy that is designed to hurt us.”
Candidate for leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada Mark Carney said he understood why Canadians felt like booing when he was asked where he stood on the issue.
“Well, when the U.S. team disassociates themselves from calling us the 51st state, then we’ll cheer the American anthem,” he said, in an interview with political podcast The Rest Is Politics posted online in mid-February.
“Canadians, in the very, very short term, have few outlets for their frustrations. In the medium term, in the not too distant — I’m going to provide them with an outlet, which is a positive agenda. But if the way they express themselves is to boo the American national anthem while our country is under attack heatedly and daily, fair enough.”
Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre did not seem to agree with this approach by Canadians.
“I would focus on cheering on Canadians. I want Canadians to win,” he said, the National Post reported on Feb. 20.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that Americans were “good people,” and told Canadians not to “take it out” on them at a news conference on March 4. He said it was “crossing the line.”
“Please do not boo the national anthem in Canada or in the U.S. These are soldiers that fought for our freedoms, our democracy, our sovereignty. They’ve laid their lives on the line,” he said. “Boo the referee. Boo the players if you want. Do not boo the American national anthem.”
He asked the same of Americans, urging them not to boo the Canadian anthem either.
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