Edmonton Oilers make appearance in Carney's new election campaign ad
The next Canadian federal election will get underway next month and the Edmonton Oilers have already found their way into a campaign ad.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was born in the Northwest Territories but raised in Edmonton, has officially kicked off his campaign for the election cycle. His first few ads were heavy on hockey with Carney wearing a #97 Canada jersey while talking to comedian Mike Myers.
Elbows up, Canada. pic.twitter.com/0gJ2opnPjZ
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 22, 2025
While the jersey may be a nod to Connor McDavid, the Oilers were never explicitly shown in those ads. However, that all changed when the Liberal Party of Canada sent out a social media post shortly after the election was called on Sunday featuring Carney skating with the Oilers.
“Game on,” the post read.
Game on. pic.twitter.com/JgESAlpz94
— Liberal Party (@liberal_party) March 23, 2025
We already found out that Carney is a diehard Oilers fan due to being raised in the Alberta capital. He showed off that fandom last week by taking to Rogers Place ice with the team for a morning skate. He repped a custom Oilers home jersey with his last name on the back and the #24 to represent him being the 24th Prime Minister in Canadian history.
He was also in attendance for Edmonton’s 4-3 OT loss at the hand of the Winnipeg Jets.
It’s certainly interesting to see the Oilers represented in a political ad before the election, but with Canadian pride being a central point to this year’s election, drawing on Canada’s love of hockey makes a lot of sense. What better team to represent than the one that was dubbed “Canada’s Team” during last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Also, McDavid was Canada’s hero during the latest 4 Nations Face-Off, scoring the OT golden goal against the United States in the championship game just over a month ago. The Oilers have a lot of connections to Canadian pride of late.
It remains to be seen if this is a winning strategy for Carney and the Liberals, but we won’t have to wait long to find out as the election is set to go on April 28.