In recent days, plenty of videos of Canadians booing the U.S. national anthem at pro sports events have made their way around social media.
As the Raptors took on the Clippers in Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, that trend continued.
Fans of the only Canadian NBA squad let out a collection of boos for “The Star Spangled Banner,” then cheered for Canada’s national anthem, “O Canada.”
Here’s what to know about the reasoning behind Canadian sports fans’ boos, which stems back to current political affairs.
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Why Raptors, hockey fans have booed U.S. national anthem
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, signed an executive order that issued new tariffs on goods coming into the United States from Canada, Mexico and China. The order included a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods, and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered retaliatory tariffs on goods from America.
As American sports leagues have played in their Canada-based games, Canadian fans have been booing the U.S. national anthem due to the political situation with the tariffs. In Sunday’s Raptors vs. Clippers game, fans could be heard cheering the performer of the U.S. national anthem, but booing while she sang it.
The US anthem gets booed at the Raptors game. Never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/HDipiMs9fW
— William Lou (@william_lou) February 2, 2025
Here’s another video from the Raptors vs. Clippers game:
Boos ringing out during the US national anthem here ahead of the Clippers-Raptors game pic.twitter.com/IPIDe93a0C
— Kayla Grey (@Kayla_Grey) February 2, 2025
The same situation occurred for a recent matchup between the NHL’s Senators and Wild:
The United States national anthem is booed in Ottawa ahead of the Senators and Wild game amid tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Caught the end of it, but it was booed for the first part of the anthem as well. pic.twitter.com/ChBU6XFxIP
— Nick Murray (@NickMurray91) February 2, 2025
According to the Associated Press, Raptors forward Chris Boucher, a Canadian citizen, was asked after Sunday’s game if he had ever heard anything like the booing.
“No, no, no,” Boucher said, per the AP. “But have you ever seen us getting taxed like that?”
Another Raptors player who grew up in Canada, Kelly Olynyk, also spoke on the topic.
“Obviously it has an impact on a lot of people in this country and in this stadium,” Olynyk said, per The Athletic. “It’s their opinion. I felt bad for the girl singing but they cheered her at the end, so I was happy for that, … It’s the state of the world right now.”