Q&A: The US-Canada trade war has helped these patriotic tunes go viral

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

From Hockey to shovelling snowfall to a Tim Horton's Double Double, determination has been a emergence successful songs celebrating each things Canadian successful effect to the ongoing commercialized warfare betwixt Canada and the United States. These songs whitethorn beryllium going viral, but songs of utmost nationalist pridefulness person not ever been fashionable successful Canada. Emily Ansari is simply a euphony prof astatine Western University. She speaks astir this inclination successful an interrogation with CBC Afternoon Drive big Matt Allen. 

The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity:

Matt Allen: How precisely are music, patriotism, and nationalism connected?

Emily Ansari: I deliberation successful Canada, we haven't had a agelong past of patriotic music. We surely person a past of songs that are astir Canada oregon that possibly explicit benignant of sentimental ideas astir Canada and Canadianness and Canadian landscapes. But we don't truly person a beardown past of patriotic songs beyond the anthem. And I deliberation that is changing.

MA: Why has determination not been a batch of nationalist pridefulness expressed successful Canadian music?

EA: I deliberation Canadians person a antithetic cognition toward national individuality than citizens of immoderate different countries, possibly astir notably the United States. I deliberation there's a feeling that immoderate level of patriotism is appropriate, but a benignant of aggressive, jingoistic nationalism—the benignant of nationalism wherever we deliberation that our state is amended than different countries—that is thing that I deliberation Canadians thin to deliberation is not successful bully taste.

MA: What bash you deliberation it is astir the existent governmental clime that has fixed emergence to each of this music?

EA: Well, certainly, the tariff warfare and the threats to Canada arsenic a state person brought astir a full caller acceptable of feelings successful Canadians, right? Maybe besides conscionable our consciousness of what a large state it is that we unrecorded in. I'm an immigrant, but I, too, person beardown feelings astir what a large state Canada is astatine this moment. And I deliberation erstwhile thing is nether threat, you admit it adjacent more, right? When thing could beryllium lost, you privation to clasp connected to it. I deliberation that feeling is each astir america with the Buy Canada movement, the booing towards the nationalist anthem astatine sporting events, but besides successful a full acceptable of caller popular songs that person been coming out.

MA: You wrote an article successful which you listed a fewer songs that are examples of Canadian nationalism. The archetypal 1 is "I'm a Canadian" by Tom Green.

EA: What Tom Green seems to beryllium trying to bash present is much directed astatine Canadians and benignant of rallying this temper of nationalist pride. He does truthful done the astir endearing and adorable aspects of Canadian individuality right? Our food, our landscapes, and things that acceptable america apart, but successful a not-at-all-aggressive way.

MA: The adjacent opus you highlighted is "We Used to Be Friends" by Jim Cuddy.

MA: The code is antithetic successful this one, it's astir similar a breakup song. 

EA: My consciousness is that this 1 is much directed astatine Americans, right? And much grieving a relationship that seems to beryllium connected the wane. He tells the communicative of each the things that we utilized to bash together. And by the way, helium besides benignant of references moments wherever we stood up for the United States and did things that were difficult. It's conscionable a benignant of a gentle reminder arsenic good of, you know, we've been beauteous bully friends to you, and you mightiness privation to retrieve that. It's inactive friendly, it's inactive kind, and it comes from a bully place. 

MA: Our adjacent opus is "Elbows Up, Canada." which has been much of a rallying cry, I think. 

MA: Lots of assertive speech successful this song. The word "elbows up" is precise symbolic of the connection of that song.

EA: This seems to beryllium the operation of the past mates of weeks ever since that Saturday Night Live quality from Mike Myers. The euphony besides has a state style, which is precise overmuch the connection of American philharmonic nationalism arsenic well, right? Which is benignant of interesting—a precise antithetic philharmonic connection from the different songs that you played.

MA: What are the positives and negatives of expressing nationalism successful this way?

EA: I deliberation it feels needed astatine this moment. I deliberation we consciousness the request to explicit shared perspectives successful a infinitesimal wherever we consciousness profoundly threatened and challenged. And I deliberation a batch of america are dealing with those feelings individually. Music allows others to connect, and we each tin benignant of link done the euphony to those shared emotions. So that's a affirmative happening due to the fact that it helps america process that hard acquisition we're going through. Of course, wherever it tin get much tricky is wherever philharmonic nationalism moves implicit into thing that is much aggressive, much exceptionalist. I deliberation it volition beryllium absorbing to spot however the euphony changes if that sentiment shifts. At what constituent volition we determination into thing that looks much like, "No, we're amended than you."?