‘Elbows up!’: Angry Canadians rally together in face of Trump’s threats
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People taking part in an Elbows Up rally amid rising Canada-US tensions, in Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada, on March 14, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TORONTO - Canadians are upset.
At first, it was the threat, and then the reality, of tariffs. Now, US President Donald Trump’s talk of Canada’s forced annexation
Canadians are rallying for their country and seeing a resurgence in nationalism, as Canada-US relations top the list of issues preoccupying residents, according to recent polls.
“Elbows up”, a hockey term conveying readiness to fight, is the new rallying cry – emblazoned on clothing, headlining rallies and the title of a new podcast that dedicated its first episode to the practicalities of creating a civil defence corps.
It remains unclear how long Mr Trump’s tariffs
Canadians are boycotting US goods and cancelling US travel plans. Provinces are taking American alcohol off store shelves.
The sense of betrayal runs deep.
“It’s a mix of concern, frustration, anger. Our longstanding friend and ally has turned against us, and we don’t really know what to do,” said Mr Peter Wall, an Elbows Up rally organiser.
Mr Wall and a handful of other organisers put together a rally on Parliament Hill in Canada’s capital Ottawa in a matter of days.
The event, which featured speakers, a band and a cloakroom for hockey sticks to facilitate a game afterwards, attracted more than 1,000 people on March 9.
More events are planned in Toronto and elsewhere in the coming weeks.
Signs at the Ottawa rally criticised Mr Trump as an imperialist, saying “Elbows up” or “True north strong and peeved”, a play on lyrics from Canada’s national anthem. There was no shortage of Canadian flags.
Journalist Jordan Heath-Rawlings, who channelled his frustration into a new podcast called Elbows Up, compared the state of Canada’s relationship with the US to the shock of a divorce.
“All the things in your life you maybe took for granted are, all of a sudden, gone. You have to redefine yourself as a person and I think that’s where we’re at as a country,” he said.
“I think a lot of Canadians feel really hurt. I think a lot of Canadians are really angry. I’ve been feeling that way myself, for sure.”
Comedian and actor Shaun Majumder, who recently moved back to Canada with his family after years of living in Los Angeles and who performed at the Elbows Up rally, said he thinks Canadians will look back at this time in 50 years and see it as an inflection point.
“Was that a shift in our maturity where we finally found our identity? And it’s not beavers, it’s not Mounties, it’s not politeness – there’s something underneath it all,” he said.
In a parting speech on March 9, before new Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn in
“We’re a country that will be diplomatic when we can, but fight when we must. Elbows up!” he said. REUTERS
