Canadians recently booed the national anthem during a Toronto Raptors basketball game following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on the nation. Reportedly, anthem booing has been a growing trend at Canadian pro sporting events in the aftermath of the tariffs. Similar booing incidents have also occurred at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta.
Footage from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto recently went viral on social media, showing the harsh reaction from fans to the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. As a female singer began to perform the anthem, almost instantly, audible boos from the crowd could be heard. As the song went on, the heckling appeared to grow in intensity.
As background, President Trump introduced sweeping tariffs last weekend in what he described as an economic emergency. The move placed a 25% tax on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tax on imports from China. Subsequently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retaliated against Trump, imposing tariffs on American goods.
The White House released a fact sheet about the tariffs, explaining their need. “The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),” the Trump administration said. “The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).”
It continued, “Until the crisis is alleviated, President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.” The White House continued, “President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.”
Calling out China, the statement read, “The orders make clear that the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States, through illicit distribution networks, has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis. Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.”
Calling out “intolerable” corruption in Mexican politics, The White House continued, “Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico. The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims. This alliance endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels.”
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Watch the booing of the national anthem at the Toronto Raptors game below:
Not letting Canada off the hook, the Trump administration continued, “There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada. A recent study recognized Canada’s heightened domestic production of fentanyl, and its growing footprint within international narcotics distribution.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.