Canadian signer Michael Bublé delivered a patriotic monologue on Sunday in which he declared his country is “not for sale” and “the greatest nation on earth,” an apparent response to President Donald Trump repeatedly suggesting that America could annex Canada.
Bublé made the remarks while hosting Canada’s Juno Awards, an annual music event. He did not mention Trump by name or offer any explicit political endorsement or condemnation – notable given that Canada is heading for a general election on April 28 contested mostly between incumbent, unelected Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Both Poilievre and Carney are campaigning on the claim that Trump would prefer their opponent win the election, attempting to capitalize on growing anti-American sentiment in the country driven in part by Trump’s “51st state” comments. Bublé’s comments were nonetheless interpreted as defiance against the idea of Canada losing its sovereign to its southern neighbor.
“You guys know I’m a hometown kid – I’m a hometown kid who never left,” Bublé told the audience, “and as I stand here and I look out at my fellow artists … I’m proud to be Canadian.”
Bublé attempted to reference a line first popularized by American former First Lady Michelle Obama, asserting, “when they go low, we get high,” which he rapidly corrected. The singer never identified the “they” he was challenging, but continued, “when you love something, you show up for it, and we always will.”
“We will, because we’re formidable, because we’re fearless, because we don’t just acknowledge our differences, we embrace them,” Bublé stated. “Because they don’t just make us stronger, they make us a hell of lot more interesting.”
“We are the greatest nation on earth and we are not for sale,” he concluded.
The current tensions between Washington and Ottawa began shortly after President Trump won his second term in office. At the time, Trump announced a plan to impose a 25-percent tariff on both Canada and Mexico in response to what he described as an out-of-control crime situation on the northern border and Canada’s failure to stop drug and human trafficking hurting Americans.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump threatened in November. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
The prime minister at the time, radical leftist Justin Trudeau, rapidly flew to Florida to discuss the situation with the president-elect. Trump ultimately delayed the tariffs and did not impose them on January 20, but joked that Trudeau was the “governor” of the “state” of Canada, outraging Canadians and eventually dooming Trudeau’s political career. After a decade in power, Trudeau announced in January he would resign, a move largely believed to be fueled by infighting in the Liberal Party over his poor showing with Trump.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State. The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned,” Trump wrote on social media shortly after Trudeau announced his plan to resign.
Trump has since resumed conversation with Carney, Trudeau’s successor who took power in March after winning the leadership of the Liberal Party in an internal membership election. Trump and Carney most recently spoke on Friday in a phone call that Trump praised as “extremely productive.”
“We agree on many things, and we will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” Trump wrote, apparently presuming Carney’s electoral victory.
Trump explicitly stated in an interview with Fox News this month that he would prefer Carney win to the conservative Poilievre.
“I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal. And maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me at all,” Trump said.
“The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine. I don’t know him, but he said negative things,” Trump said of Poilievre. “So, when he says negative things, I couldn’t care less. I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal. And maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me at all.”
Despite Trump’s stated preference for and politeness towards Carney, Canadian leftists have attempted to brand Poilievre as the pro-Trump options. Leftist celebrities, most prominently comedian Mike Myers, have embraced Carney.
Elbows up, Canada. pic.twitter.com/0gJ2opnPjZ
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 22, 2025
Bublé has openly discussed politics in past interviews but not embraced any particular partisan identity. He was notably a guest on conservative television personality Glenn Beck’s two programs – on CNN and Fox News – in the 2000s, though he did not offer any overt political commentary. Bublé has been a vocal supporter of gay rights, citing in past interviews members of his family who are gay, and once joked it was “sexist” of him to refer to Santa Claus as “buddy” in his version of the Christmas classic “Santa Baby.”
In a 2016 interview, Bublé described himself as listening “to people like Richard Dawkins and Noam Chomsky on YouTube.”
In several public instances, when asked about Trump personally, Bublé has offered neither praise nor explicit condemnation.
“I can’t stop the politicians or stupid, uneducated people from thinking and saying and doing stupid things, but I can make a stand, I can talk to you,” he said in an interview with David magazine, “and when I’m with groups of friends or I’m in public places or when I’m with people who I think can use that sense of love and education, I can open my mouth and tell them how I feel. And one at a time, you can change the world like that.”
In more recent comments in 2023, Bublé lamented that American media was “very conservative” and the country was experiencing a “great divide.”
