4 Nations tournament set against backdrop of Canada-U.S. political tensions

Team Canada forward Eric Staal (12) and forward Mason McTavish (32) celebrate a goal against Team United States goaltender Strauss Mann (31) as defender David Warsofsky (5) and forward Ben Meyers (39) look on during first period men's ice hockey action at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Canada and the United States share the world’s longest border at nearly 9,000 kilometres.

The countries have interlinked economies and plenty in common culturally. The Peace Arch, straddling British Columbia and Washington state, is meant to symbolizes that friendship. The Peace Bridge, meanwhile, links Ontario and New York state.

The last few weeks haven’t felt all that peaceful.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced crippling tariffs — a 30-day reprieve was negotiated Feb. 3 — and continues to muse about making America’s northern neighbour its 51st state.

Despite the pause on a blanket tariff on Canadian goods, Trump said on Sunday that he will formally announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. on Monday, including those coming from Canada.

There have been, of course, plenty of disagreements and flashpoints in the past. Away from the political arena, that rivalry has perhaps been the fiercest when the countries' athletes compete — especially on the ice.

The 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament involving NHL players and featuring the North American rivals, starts Wednesday in Montreal.

So what will the current unease and tit-for-tat threats mean for a matchup that already has plenty of fuel?

“Canadians are nationalistic and proud,” said Daniel Rubenson, a political science professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. “They don’t want to be told they’re going to be subsumed by another country. The chances are pretty slim, but that rhetoric puts things on edge.”

Canadian crowds booed the American anthem at both NHL and NBA games in response to Trump’s tariff threats.

That trend slowed after both sides — Canada indicated it would respond with retaliatory tariffs if the U.S. followed through — took a step back from the ledge. Fans in Halifax didn’t jeer the anthem ahead of the countries' recent women’s Rivalry Series hockey games.

The crowd in Montreal for a pair of Canadiens' contests over the weekend were largely respectful of the anthem.

But the city, where the Canadians and Americans square off Saturday in 4 Nations action, has a history of booing The Star-Spangled Banner, including in 2003 after the U.S. invaded Iraq.

“The political landscape is so unstable in the United States,” said Amy Bass, a professor of sports studies at Manhattanville University in Purchase, N.Y. “Having a definitive idea of what this game is going to mean and how it’s going to go down … we don’t know.”

Aaron Ettinger, an associate political science professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, said nationalism is always the subtext of international sports.

“That’s what makes it fun,” he said. “It’s our country and our people against your country and your people.”

Ettinger, whose published work includes the intersection of sports and politics, added pride can play a big factor.

“Canadians like beating Americans at sports because we’re not really going to beat them at much else,” he said. “This time around, there’s some real stakes because the United States and its president are (threatening) something harmful to Canadian national interests.”

Canada’s main hockey rival was once the Soviet Union. Russia picked up the banner, but the U.S. has nudged its way to the top of the list over the last 30 years.

Canada hasn’t been unseated in the men’s game — at least not yet. The women have gone back and forth, while the Americans own three of the last the world junior hockey championships.

“That’s one place, maybe the only place, where Canada has been the big brother,” Rubenson said of the rink. “It’s been easy for Canadians to be generous toward Americans there.”

The rivalry has been tough yet friendly, he added, but the change in tone from the White House might signal a change in that relationship.

“Political and social issues can spill over,” Rubenson said.

Fans and politicians could get riled, but will the players actually care?

Many Canadians suit up for American-based teams. U.S. captain Auston Matthews, meanwhile, wears the ‘C’ for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I don’t know if they live in the real world,” Ettinger said of NHL stars. “They generally live in the elite republic of hockey without much sense of what’s going on in the real world.”

Rubenson, whose specialization includes sports and politics, doesn’t expect much change in terms of the on-ice clash.

“That rivalry is already super intense,” he said. “Hardcore fans don’t need excuses. The media is going to drum this up and the fans are going to get riled up.

“Might make for great atmosphere — nothing wrong with that.”

While not a direct comparable or on the same scale, Bass said a Canadian victory at the 4 Nations could have a feel north of the border similar to the Americans' triumph over the Soviets — the “Miracle on Ice” — at the 1980 Olympics.

“It was a Cold War victory,” she said. “Has the United States become the ‘big bad’? Taking down the United States is going to feel good for a whole new reason.”

Ettinger said that, in the end, the current cooling of relations is not so much Canada versus U.S. as Canada versus Trump.

“Americans, generally, have very favourable views of Canada,” he said. “The economic relationship is extraordinarily beneficial to both. It just happens to be that the guy manning the White House has really antagonistic orientations towards most foreign countries.

“Especially Canada.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press