Canadian Sports Fans Keep Booing US Anthem

UPDATE Feb 3, 2025 6:47 AM CST

The booing of the US national anthem by Canadian fans might be a thing at this point. Toronto Raptors fans booed the anthem on Sunday at a home game, reports the Guardian, one day after it happened at NHL games in Ottawa and Calgary because of the coming US tariffs. (Watch the NBA moment here.) "Of course I noticed it," said Raptors forward Garrett Temple, who is American. "The reaction [was], 'Wow.' And then you just think about why they're booing. A lot of things bigger than basketball going on in the world right now."

Feb 2, 2025 10:00 AM CST

Canadian hockey fans stepped into the political arena on Saturday night, booing during the singing of the US national anthem before an NHL game in Ottawa. That was hours after President Trump ordered tariffs placed on goods imported from Canada, as well as Mexico and China. Many of the 20,000 fans at the Canadian Tire Centre booed as a local artist, Mandia, launched into the Star-Spangled Banner, TMZ reports, before the Senators' game against the Minnesota Wild. Other fans applauded and cheered. The jeering stopped for a bit, then returned, louder, toward the end of Mandia's rendition, per the Ottawa Citizen, which reports "O Canada" drew cheers and louder-than-usual participation.

There could be more booing ahead. Trump began his Sunday with online posts saying the three nations are guilty of a "ripoff," again incorrectly referring to the trade deficit with Canada as a subsidy. "Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable country," Trump wrote, per CTV News. "Harsh but true!" The Senators play in the US for the next few weeks before an all-Canada matchup on Feb. 22, when the Montreal Canadiens come to town. (The three penalized nations are considering their next move.)