Hockey fans in Boston booed the Canadian national anthem on Thursday night before the U.S. and Canada clashed in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament championship.

Why It Matters

The battle on ice comes amid heightened tensions between the neighboring nations in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s threats to impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports and his repeated taunts about Canada becoming the 51st state.

What To Know

Before the puck was dropped for Thursday’s title game, the announcer prefaced the opening ceremony: “In the spirit of the game, we kindly ask that you respect the national anthems and the players that represent each country.”

Still, some boos and jeers rippled across TD Garden in Boston during the rendition of “O Canada.”

The jeering came days after fans in Montreal loudly booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the weekend’s testy matchup between the two teams, which the U.S. won 3-1. Days earlier, hockey fans similarly booed the U.S. national anthem when the American squad played Finland in Montreal.

Trump alluded to his gripes with Canada in a Truth Social post earlier Thursday, saying he would “be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”

He also again taunted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to him as “Governor Trudeau.”

“I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend,” the U.S. president wrote. “But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!”

In addition to mocking Trudeau, Trump rankled Canada and Mexico when he imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports shortly after taking office. He subsequently put the tariffs on hold until March but also recently announced that the U.S. would impose “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries “ripping off” the U.S. with their trade policies.

What People Are Saying

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X, formerly Twitter, during the final: “LETS GO USA! 🇺🇸”

Charlie Kirk, conservative commentator and head of Turning Point USA, wrote on X: “In the rematch between Team USA and Team Canada, the Boston crowd boos the Canadian anthem and then follows with chants of ‘USA USA!’ In general booing anthems is very bad form, but let’s be honest, they did it first and they had this coming.”

What Happens Next

The NHL is poised to send players to the Winter Olympics next year for the first time in more than a decade. Trump, meanwhile, on March 1 will revisit whether to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada.