Canadian Sports Fans Booing U.S. National Anthem Are ‘Booing a Policy Designed to Hurt Us,’ Justin Trudeau Says

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted that sports fans will continue to boo the U.S. national anthem in response to the massive tariffs imposed on the country.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Canadian fans have taken to booing the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before sporting events. It was widely believed that the gesture was a direct response to Trump threatening Canada with tariffs, as well as his desire to annex Canada as America’s 51st state.

Those tariffs officially went into effect Tuesday morning on Canada, Mexico and China. Hours later, Trudeau spoke about the U.S.’s decision in a press conference and briefly explained why sports fans have been booing.

“This is a policy decision by the American government, designed to go after the Canadian economy,” Trudeau said. “This is a trade war, yes; but Canadians, yeah, Canadians are hurt. Canadians are angry. We’re gonna 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.

And yeah, we’re probably gonna keep booing the American anthem; 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. And we’re insulted; and we’re angry; but we’re Canadian, which means we’re gonna stand up for each other. We’re gonna fight, and we’re going to win.”

Watch above via C-SPAN