Anthem booed in Vancouver and Montreal
Soccer fans in Canada again expressed their frustration with U.S.-Canada trade relations by booing the American national anthem on Saturday. At BC Place in Vancouver, jeers echoed through the stadium as singer Emma Currie began the opening notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Major League Soccer game between the Whitecaps and FC Dallas. Earlier in the day, the song was also met with boos at Stade Saputo in Montreal, where CF Montreal hosted the L.A. Galaxy.
Both incidents, as reported by CP24 and The Globe and Mail, followed swiftly on the heels of a breakdown in trade negotiations.
Timing with trade talks
The demonstrations came hours after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended talks with the United States and recalled his negotiators to Ottawa. In response, as the reports note, the U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian exports. Carney later explained that he walked away from a bad trade deal and pledged that Canada would match U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar.
The booing was thus interpreted as a public signal of disappointment with the state of economic relations, though neither report states that fans' reactions were aimed at any specific policy or individual.
Historical context
This is not the first time the anthem has been targeted during a period of trade tension. As the sources recall, Canadian sports fans booed the American anthem in stadiums and arenas across the country in early 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports. That earlier wave of protests provides a backdrop for Saturday's events, suggesting a pattern of response to threats to Canadian economic interests.
The reports from both outlets featured similar details and framing, with The Globe and Mail adding a headline that explicitly linked the booing to the failure of trade talks. The reports also included photographic credit for the Vancouver game to Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images.