American anthem gets booed by Blue Jays fans in Toronto
The Toronto Blue Jays opened up the 2025 MLB season this afternoon, but things weren’t all happy during the pregame ceremony at the Rogers Centre.
Despite being asked to respect the anthems, there was a smattering of boos during the “Star Spangled Banner” in Toronto as fans showed their displeasure with their southern neighbours. The anthem was performed by the cast of the Toronto production of Disney’s The Lion King.
Booing the American anthem has become normalized at Canadian sporting events over the last few months, but this is the first time we’ve heard it happen at an MLB game.
@offsidecanada Fans boo the USA national anthem at the Blue Jays opening day in Toronto 👀🇨🇦🇺🇸 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #bluejays #toronto #america #usa #canada
The booing stems from some tense relations between the United States and Canada ever since U.S. President Donald Trump took office back in January. The 78-year-old has taken an aggressive stance with his northern neighbour, including starting a trade war with the country and continuously saying that Canada should give up its sovereignty to become the 51st American state.
That has not gone over well with Canadian sports fans, and they have responded by booing the anthem before NHL and NBA games across the country, in addition to a WWE event held in Toronto earlier this month. It has also kickstarted a fresh wave of Canadian patriotism across the country.
While that may have been an awkward way to kick off the MLB season, Jays fans quickly changed gears with a passionate rendition of “O Canada” shortly after.
PROUD 🇨🇦 🥲
Nothing like O Canada on #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/ttHZsNqPmR
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 27, 2025
Canada has beaten the USA in hockey and soccer over the last few months. With the Blue Jays being the lone Canadian MLB team, they will look to continue that trend by chasing the country’s first World Series since they won it back in 1993.