Canadians Taunt US as ’11th Province’ After Beating Them at Hockey
February 21, 2025
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Canadian hockey fans have been mockingly referring to the United States as their “11th province” after their 3-2 Four Nations final victory in Boston on Thursday.
Newsweek contacted the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The Canadian victory came against the backdrop of worsening relations between Ottawa and Washington. President Trump has taken to calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “Governor Trudeau,” and has repeatedly called on Canada to abandon its independence and join the U.S. as its “51st state.”
Trump also announced tariffs of 25 percent on all Canadian produce shortly after his inauguration to protest at what he claimed was the flow of illegal migrants and fentanyl over the U.S. border, though these were later suspended for 30 days. In response Canadian fans have booed the American national anthem at multiple sporting events.
What To Know
On Thursday Canada won the Four Nations hockey tournament defeating the United States 3-2 in the final, with Connor McDavid scoring the winning goal following a pass from Mitch Marner.
In response several Canadian accounts suggested the U.S. should become Canada’s “11th province” on social media.
One Canadian X user posted a picture of the Canadian flag superimposed across the U.S. and Canada, both colored red as one country, adding: “11th Province has a nice ring to it ngl [not going to lie].”
Another Canadian, from Winnipeg in Manitoba, shared what appeared to be an AI generated image of a Canada Goose sitting on top of a blooded eagle. They wrote: “Looks like we’re getting an 11th province.”
A similar post was made by the popular ‘Sant Javelin’ X account based in Kyiv, which sells merchandise supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia.
The account shared a video clip of Canada’s winning goal jokingly adding: “Canada beats the United States in overtime officially adding America as the 11th province. Congratulations to Premier Trump.”
A fan holds a sign outside TD Garden in Boston on February 20, 2025, during the last game of the Four Nations Face-Off hockey tournament between the United States and Canada. A fan holds a sign outside TD Garden in Boston on February 20, 2025, during the last game of the Four Nations Face-Off hockey tournament between the United States and Canada. LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT/AFP/GETTY
During the game itself one Canadian fan unveiled a sign reading “Eh USA, 11th province? Think aboot it!” sparking a furious response from several USA supporters. A clip of the confrontation was shared on Instagram by Yegwave, an Alberta based account with 485,000 followers, which claimed the incident nearly sparked a fight.
One man was pictured outside the venue in Boston with a large sign reading: “Welcome to the USA, Canada’s 11th province.”
What People Are Saying
In an X post following Canada’s victory Prime Minister Trudeau wrote: “You can’t take our country—and you can’t take our game.”
Posting to his Truth Social website before the game Trump again referred to the Canadian prime minister as “Governor Trudeau,” adding his message to the U.S. hockey team was “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.”
Speaking before the match White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “We look forward to the United States beating our soon to be 51st state.”
What Happens Next
If Trump continues calling for Canada to join the American Union, or goes ahead with his threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods, tensions between Washington and Ottawa could intensify further.
The Trump administration has clashed with a number of traditional U.S. allies since it came to power in January, including Denmark over the sovereignty of Greenland and Germany over free speech.
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