Why Did Canada Boo the National Anthem at Sporting Events? The Reason Is No Surprise

When you're attending a sporting event and the band cues up the national anthem, it can be an emotional time. For those who have strong feelings, either positive or negative, about their home country, hearing the national anthem can spark all sorts of feelings and thoughts. You may have seen videos through the years of people weeping at the national anthem or breaking into tears while saluting the American flag.

When the sporting event is international and your home country is competing for respect and accolades on the world stage, those emotions can be doubled.

This may be why it hit hard for so many after people from Canada started to boo the U.S. national anthem at international sporting events. Why did they decide to start doing it? Here's what we know about the decision to boo, and how people have reacted from both countries.

Canadians have a reputation for being kind to their neighbors from the south, almost to a fault. Those who have traveled from the U.S. to Canada often report that Canadians are welcoming and friendly people, who have often stood up for their southern neighbors when other countries mock Americans for eccentricities.

It would seem that 2025 has marked the end of that generous camaraderie for many Canadians who are now fed up and disgusted with the United States, and that disgust is spilling into public events.

The booing at the national anthem in 2025 was a sudden departure from the norm, and it left many people with questions.

The Canadien Press shared a video of Canadians booing the U.S. national anthem during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, a hockey tournament, and they asked a few people why they chose to boo.

Several people cited politics under the second administration of President Donald Trump, others pointing to the tariffs he levied against Canada shortly after taking office again.

Additionally, Trump has disrespected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by referring to him as just a governor and has made suggestions that Canada should become the "51st state."

According to USA Today, the aggressive posturing and costly tariffs have enraged Canadians, in addition to their feelings about many sociopolitical changes that the Trump administration promised to make during his second term in office.

There is, of course, some measure of people booing simply because it's a sporting event and sports fans can be rabid in support of their favorite team.

But the whole thing begs the question: How do people feel about the booing? Is it causing more friction between Canadians and Americans, or are they in accord?

Like on nearly every subject in the United States these days, many people are divided over their reactions to the booing, with some calling it "disrespectful" and "rude."

Others, however, have strongly supported the gesture. In TikTok comments sections showcasing videos of the booing, a perhaps surprising number of Americans have shown their support for the gesture and called for it to expand into a movement.

In the comments of one video shared by MSNBC, the comments were overwhelmingly in support of the Canadians booing. One user wrote, "I'm a U.S. citizen. I support Canada." Another agreed, writing, "We deserve boos [for real], Canada take me I’m not like the rest of the U.S.!" While another concurred, "As a U.S. citizen, I can't be mad at them."

And the support continued, with others calling the gesture, "appropriate disrespect," and imploring other countries to follow suit.

Although it can be easy to interpret the booing as disrespect for the people of a country, some Canadians went out of their way to explain that it's about "hateful politics" and "dangerous tariffs," and that they actually support the American people.

2025 may have introduced people to the more aggressive side of Canadians, but it also reminded Americans that their neighbors to the north care.