Canadian hockey fans of the Ottawa Senators booed The Star-Spangled Banner at the NHL game against Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, hours after Donald Trump hit Canada with tariffs.
Boos and jeers were heard throughout the rendition that was performed by the Ottawa-based singer Mandia at a sold out arena with nearly 20,000 spectators.
It comes after President Trump ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China starting on Tuesday.
Trump declared that they would remain in place until a national emergency over the drug fentanyl and illegal immigration to the U.S. ends.
The booing got louder as the performance from Mandia went on and as she finished her performance, she looked awkwardly to the ground.
She took a moment to compose herself and waited for the boos to end before beginning her version of the Canadian national anthem, ‘O Canada’. Fans passed the Canada flag around the arena during the performance.
Canadian hockey fans booed the US national anthem Saturday after Donald Trump’s tariffs
Ottawa-based singer Mandia’s performance was jeered throughout by nearly 20,000 fans
For the Canadian national anthem, fans passed Canada’s flag around the arena
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said that Canada is ready to address the tariffs the U.S. government announced.
On a message on his X account, he was to talk to Sheinbaum about the U.S. administration decision, and later he will speak to Canadians.
‘We did not want this, but Canada is prepared,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the Premier of Canadian province of British Columbia, David Eby, called on residents to stop buying liquor from U.S. ‘red’ states and remove American alcohol brands from government store shelves as a response to the tariffs.
The significance of the booing at the Senators-Wild game was immediately picked up by fans watching on television and in the arena itself.
One fan who shared the footage on X said: ‘I have NEVER seen Canadians boo any national anthem…. ever before in my entire life.’
Another posted the clip and said: ‘Only time I’ve ever seen Canadians boo the US national anthem was during the Iraq war.’
A different spectator shared the video and wrote: ‘So sad. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Canadians boo the U.S. national anthem.
‘If Canada and the U.S. can’t maintain strong relations, how can we ever hope for a peaceful world? Respectful Canadians and Americans must stand together.’
National anthem performances have taken on a heightened level of significance in the sporting world recently.
ESPN’s January 2 broadcast of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans was widely slammed by viewers when they skipped the national anthem, a day after multiple people were killed by a terrorist attack in the French Quarter of the city.
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