Prime Minister Trudeau took a dig at the US (or, more specifically, President Donald Trump) after Team Canada beat Team USA 3-2 in overtime at the 4-Nations Face-Off Championship Game on Thursday night.
“You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,” Trudeau stated on X after the win. The post garnered more than 260,000 likes and 40,000 reposts within hours.
You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2025
Trudeau’s quip comes after Trump’s repeated calls to turn Canada into America’s 51st state. The 78-year-old President has been referring to Trudeau as ‘Governor’ instead of Prime Minister and threatening to implement tariffs on Canada — and, so, the long-standing brotherly rivalry between the two countries has become quite sour in recent weeks. Canadians have been booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events, and the Canadian anthem has received its share of jeers in return.
Prior to Thursday’s 4-Nations game in Boston, boos spread around the arena when singer Chantal Kreviazuk belted out “O Canada” (the Canadian artist even changed the line “in all of us command” to “that only us command” in response to Trump’s threats).
Due to the political tensions, everyone knew that winning this game would lead to some serious bragging rights (at least on social media). It was Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (named game MVP) who scored the winning goal for Canada at 8:18 into overtime, breaking the 2-2 tie. Nathan MacKinnon (named tournament MVP) and Sam Bennett each scored a goal for the Canadians, while Mitch Marner had two assists. Jordan Binnington made 31 saves for Team Canada, including six in overtime.
After the game, Canada’s head coach Jon Cooper told reporters that Canada “needed a win”, and the players bore that on their shoulders, and took it seriously.
“This one was different. This wasn’t a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people. And the guys knew it, and they delivered,” Cooper said.
The team sang “O Canada” loud and proud after their victory, and it even seemed like some Americans were cheering (so perhaps the brotherly love still remains).
Singing O Canada loud and proud after winning the #4Nations Face-Off. 🇨🇦
What a feeling. pic.twitter.com/81wQ11f1w5
— NHL (@NHL) February 21, 2025
According to NHL.com, Canada won the gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and the World Cup of Hockey 2016 (meaning, it won gold in six of the past seven best-on-best international tournaments).
The next best-on-best tournament will take place at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
