Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in a speech on Sunday that Canada and the United States “stand proudly together” and insisted “Americans are our friends” after a hockey game between the two countries this weekend erupted in multiple brawls.
The far-left Trudeau, who announced his upcoming resignation after a decade in power, made his remarks during the closing ceremonies of the Invictus Games, an event founded by the British Prince Harry to honor the world’s veterans. While most of his address concerned the celebration of veterans persevering through injury and trauma – and praise for Harry – Trudeau took a moment to address the dramatic competition between the Canadian and American hockey teams at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday.
“If you’ll permit me, a quick word to the American team — our neighbors, our allies, our friends. I’m reminded of that old joke: I went to a fight last night, and a hockey game broke out,” Trudeau told the crowd.
“I know, my American friends, you’ve been reminded this past week that your Canadian friends and every other competitor in this place is just as proud to fight for their flags as you are to fight for yours — the stars and stripes,” he continued. “We all stand proudly together. We all believe in a future where we have values and a friendship that endures the test of time.”
Trudeau promised that Canadians would “never stop fighting for the friendship that unites our two countries through tough times and through the best times in the world. Americans are our friends, always. And we are yours.”
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Trudeau’s conciliatory comments follow a contentious period in U.S.-Canadian relations triggered by his own poor management of the country. President Donald Trump, shortly before taking office in January, condemned the Canadian government for failing to properly secure its border with America, allowing illegal immigration and drug trafficking to flourish. In response to this failure, Trump announced he would implement a 25-percent tariff on all Canadian (and Mexican) goods “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
Trump announced he would impose the tariffs on February 1, but granted Canada a 30-day pause after Trudeau agreed to a “$1.3 billion border plan” specifically targeting the fentanyl trade. Trump has insisted that the tariffs are still very much in play if he feels that Ottawa’s actions to protect American interests on the border are unsatisfactory and Canadian outlets report that the uncertainty is already driving investment out of Canada.
Canadians have also objected to Trump repeatedly referring to their country as the “51st state” and Trudeau as a “governor.” Trump most recently claimed during his pre-Super Bowl interview a week ago that he sees annexing Canada as a serious policy goal, prompting Canadian officials to insist the country will “never be a colony.”
Canada is a constitutional monarchy whose head of state is King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who outranks Trudeau.
Canadians outraged at the potential economic consequences of the tariff threat and repeated references to annexation have taken to expressing their ire by booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” when played at hockey games. The game between the Canadian and American teams on Saturday in Montreal began the same way – with loud booing against the American national anthem – before the players took to the rink and appeared to almost immediately pummel each other.
The booing notably occurred even as event organizers explicitly requested that fans show respect to the visiting nation.
“Our goal is to make sure that we create an environment and that hockey represents an opportunity to bring people together, and I think people understand that,” Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters this weekend. “In this building, initially, there was some booing a couple of games ago, and the club made an announcement asking people to stop and show respect for two great countries, and it stopped. And that’s what we expect.”
Three fistfights erupted during the first nine seconds of the game, the semi-final of the 4 Nations Face-Off. The American team ultimately defeated the Canadians 3-1 and will play on home turf in the final in Boston, Massachusetts.
Trudeau – who is expected the vacate the leadership of his radical leftist Liberal Party in March and, ultimately, the prime ministership – had enthusiastically cheered on the Canadian team throughout the tournament on social media.
Damn proud of this country. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/vsrkY2xjxx
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 16, 2025
Trudeau’s inability to properly confront Trump’s tariff threats almost directly led to his resignation announcement. Following a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate late in 2024, one of his closest political allies, former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, resigned in protest, for many voters the last straw of collapsing Liberal support for the head of government. Freeland is now running to replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party on a platform of being tough on America.
“We are going to fight back,” Freeland promised in an interview with MSNBC in early October. “And Canada is your biggest market. … For Americans, like, you’re business people, right, the customer is always right. And your customer is really angry at you.”
“We’re your neighbors. We are your allies, and you guys are really lucky to have us on your northern border,” she claimed. “The fact that you have this safe, secure, friendly country on your northern border is foundational to American prosperity. Now you are slapping us in the face. I mean, the tariffs against Canada are higher than the tariffs imposed against China. What’s going on here, guys?”
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Should Freeland win the race to lead the Liberals, she will then move on to challenge the head of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, for the prime ministership. While repeatedly condemning Trudeau’s tenure in office as a failure, Poilievre has also had to balance Canadian ire at Trump, insisting the tariffs proposed are “unjustified.”
“Common Sense Conservatives condemn President Trump’s massive, unjust and unjustified tariffs which will damage both American and Canadian economies,” Poilievre proclaimed in early February.
Poilievre unveiled a plan to replace American imports by deregulating domestic commerce to allow Canadian provinces to trade freely with each other.
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