Wayne Eyre warns against booing U.S. anthem at 4 Nations
Wayne Eyre warned Canadians last week against booing the U.S. national anthem at hockey games and other sporting events, saying public displays like that can turn friendly Americans against Canada. He made the remarks at a University of Ottawa event organized by the Centre for International Policy Studies.
Eyre, Canada’s former top general, said Canadians should be careful about burning bridges with Americans who remain friendly. He added: “Evoking wide-scale nationalism by not considering the population separate from the administration, by booing national anthems at hockey games and turning those who are friendly to us against us; we’ve got to remember there are more Americans friendly to Canada than there are Canadians,”
University of Ottawa event
The comments came in a keynote speech at the university last week, after he retired in 2024 as chief of defence staff. Eyre also warned that Canada should not move away from dependence on the United States by running into China’s arms, and he cautioned against sacrificing Canada’s relationship with Taiwan to placate the Chinese government.
He said, “We need to be wary about siding with China over the U.S., as I believe that is the path to ruin,” and added, “Having some trade is good, but doing it from a position where we’re not sacrificing our national interests and national values has got to be the way forward. Because if we go all in, we’ll have our lunch eaten for us very, very fast,”
Montreal 4 Nations
The warning lands after some sporting events in Canada involving an American team were booed during Donald Trump’s second presidency. Eyre pointed to a 4 Nations hockey match between Canada and the U.S. in Montreal in February 2025 as the most notable example.
That reaction sits inside a wider strain in the Canada-U.S. relationship that Eyre said has changed and will likely never return to where it was or where people thought it was. His remarks leave Canadian sports fans with a direct choice at future games: treat anthem protests as a way to target an administration, or risk widening the distance with Americans he said are still friendly.
