Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has endorsed a tongue-in-cheek update to the iconic “I am Canadian” ad amid the trade war with the United States.
Nova Scotia resident Jeff Douglas, the face behind the viral 2000s Molson Canadian ad officially titled “The Rant,” returned to the stage after 25 years.
An updated version of the famous speech that popularized the saying “I am Canadian” was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday.
Trudeau shared the video on X on Thursday morning. “Good to have you back,” reads the post.
Good to have you back. pic.twitter.com/NR6IXqve1O
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 6, 2025
This time around, instead of debunking Canadian stereotypes, Douglas clapped back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of turning Canada into the 51st state.
“They mistake our modesty for meekness, our kindness for consent, our nation for another star on their flag, and our love of a hot, cheesy poutine with their love of a hot, cheesy Putin,” says Douglas in the rousing, patriotic speech.
He highlights famous Canadians like Terry Fox and Gord Downie, as well as famous Canadian inventions like ketchup chips, peanut butter and yoga pants.
“Are we perfect? No! But we are not the 51st anything!” he proclaims. “We are the first to unite in a crisis, the first to build bridges, not walls, and the first to ‘stand on guard for thee!'”
He ends the rant with a slight update to the classic slogan, using his real name, not “Joe,” and making the statement plural to include all Canucks.
“My name is Jeff, and we are Canadian!”
The video, which was posted on the YouTube channel Average Joes, has garnered over 270,000 views in one day.
“Canada needs a rallying cry. So, we made one,” reads the channel’s profile. The video “We are Canadian” is the only one uploaded to the channel.
This comes amid high tensions between the U.S. and Canada after Trump officially slapped 25 per cent tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico, including the 10 per cent tariffs on energy, on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded with 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs against $155 billion of American goods, beginning with taxes on $30 billion worth of products immediately.
As of Thursday afternoon, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Trump will likely pause tariffs on Canada for one month.
