Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a pointed message for President Donald Trump after Canadaâs ice hockey team beat Team USA in overtime on Thursday.
âYou canât take our countryâand you canât take our game,â the outgoing PM wrote on X after Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The matchup had become the most anticipated international hockey game in more than a decade after a political battle between the North American neighbors spilled out onto the arena, Axios reported.
Trump has repeatedly said Canada should become the 51st American state and referred to Trudeau as âgovernorâ since winning re-election in November. He has also threatened to start a trade war with one of the U.S.âs closest allies and biggest trading partners, which has left even conservative Canadian politicians fuming.
All of that apparently inspired Canadian crowds to boo the âStar Spangled Bannerâ during two Team USA games played earlier in the tournament. When Canada and the U.S. faced off in a first-round game last weekend, three fights broke out in the first nine secondsâall apparently pre-planned by a trio of American players, according to Axios.
Team USAâs general manager then told Fox News his team would âlove itâ if Trump attended the finals game against Canada. On Thursday, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he couldnât make it, but used the opportunity to take yet another swipe at Canada.
âIâll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State,â he wrote.
He added that he couldnât attend the game because he was speaking before the U.S. governors in Washington, D.C.
âWe will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,â Trump wrote.
In protest of Trumpâs threats to annex Canada, singer Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyrics to Canadaâs national anthem at the start of Thursdayâs game. Instead of âTrue patriot love, in all of us command,â she sang, âTrue patriot love, that only us command,â she confirmed to CBC News.
âIn this very peculiar and potentially consequential moment, I truly believe that we must stand up, use our voices and try to protect ourselves,â wrote Kreviazuk, 50, on Instagram. âWe should express our outrage in the face of any abuses of power.â
Recent polls have found the vast majority of Canadians have no desire to join the U.S., even if you paid them tens of thousands of dollars. But about one-third of Canadians are worried Trump is serious about taking over Canada, with 60 percent saying they donât trust him not to invade.
