Graphic by Forrester Toews

The politics of Trump’s administration have made the Canada-USA rivalry games bigger than hockey.

Losing an Olympic gold medal game in hockey sucks. Losing two gold medal games is worse. But losing two gold medal games to the United States of America? Well, you might as well take me out back. 

At the Winter Olympics this year in Milan, Italy, the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams lost their respective gold medal games to the USA, both by a final score of 2-1 in overtime.  

The feelings I have regarding these losses will never be positive; I am, after all, an avid Canadian hockey fan, but the dread I felt this year was different. 

Hockey rivalries are generally fun. Sure, you hate the team – and maybe even the players – during the season, maybe you scream at your TV or curse out their goalie. But there’s a moment each year, when the playoffs end, the Stanley Cup is awarded, and eventually the emotion of the loss subsides, and you realize that it’s really just a game. In the offseason, rivalries and losses are irrelevant; everyone’s too busy golfing in July.  

“The Canada-USA rivalry games have an air of drama, where a dream of perseverance against the world’s villain courses through Canadians. It is a dream tethered too tightly to a silly game, and a dream that was shattered by the sounds of Jack Hughes’ game-winner.” 

The men’s final was a relatively fair (despite a non-called too many men penalty) and well-played game by both teams. I thought Canada deserved the win, but in 3-on-3 overtime, anything can happen. If it were any other opponent, that “eh, it’s just a game” moment would’ve come after a few days.

This year, the loss has festered into bitterness. It was not just a game to Canadians, and the politics surrounding the game before and after prove it. 

During the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off, U.S. President Donald Trump first began his threats of making Canada the 51st state. That year, we were playing for our national pride, not just to win a game. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister at the time, tweeted after Canada’s win in the final against the U.S.: “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.” 

The insinuation, then, is that losing to the States means that they can take our country. Trump has not backed off from threatening Canada’s sovereignty, and the tariffs are still affecting the Canadian economy. 

Canada does not want to be bested by the country that is a global enemy right now. From threatening Greenland, separating families in the States, withholding the Epstein files, and aiding the genocide against Palestine, it seems like every week there is a new vile thing coming out of the president’s administration. 

It would be foolish and unfair to suggest that Donald Trump’s actions reflect the U.S. team as a unit. Certainly, in the Olympics, they are representing their country, not Trump or his administration. However, the men on the team have made that difficult to believe. 

“I’ve tried to tell myself that the loss is only hockey. But it really isn’t, not anymore.”

After the gold medal win, Donald Trump made a comment during a phone call to the men’s team about having to invite the women’s team to the White House or else he’d get impeached. Many players laughed in response, and all but five players accepted their own invitation to visit the White House. The men’s team’s complicity with Trump makes them compliant with his administration. 

Other players have furthered their connections with the president; Tage Thompson wore a MAGA hat and said that we need to “live in peace knowing that not everyone’s going to agree with you,” and Matthew Tkachuk straight up said that it was an honour to represent Donald Trump at the Olympics. 

The women’s team declined their eventual invite. Their win was for women’s sports, for good, and they have not done anything post-game to make me think otherwise. They don’t, as a unit, represent Trump’s America the way the men do, and Canada’s loss at the hands of the women’s team does not feel like yielding to an enemy.

You can be honoured to support and represent your country at the Olympics and be patriotic to the U.S. that believes in liberty and justice for all, but do not be honoured to represent the president who was found liable of sexual abuse and has 34 felony convictions. 

The Canada-U.S. rivalry games have an air of drama, where a dream of perseverance against the world’s villain courses through Canadians. It is a dream tethered too tightly to a silly game, and a dream that was shattered by the sounds of Jack Hughes’ game-winning goal. 

I’ve tried to tell myself that the loss is only hockey. But it really isn’t, not anymore.