Canadian City Removes All American Flags From Its Sports Arenas

Canadians aren’t feeling so friendly to their American neighbors.

Since the Trump administration first threatened to impose tariffs on goods imported from Canada (and other countries), the repercussions have spilled out from the political arena into sports arenas. And now some local elected officials are taking further action.

The city of Mississauga, Ontario, says it will be removing all American flags from a number of locations across the city. Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish announced Saturday that the city “has begun to remove all American flags from sports arenas and locations along Lake Ontario, including the pier at Snug Harbour in Port Credit. Oversized Canadian flags (15’x30’) are ordered and will be installed on all the poles at City Hall.”

Mississauga has a population of about 770,000 and several sports complexes.

When one person asked Parrish how much the city is spending to remove the flags and later reinstall them (assuming the trade spat ends), she responded: “Peanuts. We raise and lower flags all the time. Very small investment sending a proud Canadian message to those Americans who share our concerns.”

When reached for comment by Front Office Sports, Mississauga Stadium, an athletic facility that includes a full-size artificial turf field and seasonal dome, said there had been no American flags flying at the facility to take down. Port Credit Memorial Arena, also in Mississauga, is a public sports complex with hockey facilities (no one could be reached there). Parrish’s office did not respond to a request for comment from FOS.

Another Ontario town, West Lincoln, voted last month to remove the U.S. flag from a community hockey arena.

What was once a warm and mutually beneficial trading partnership between neighboring countries is now a tense political standoff and retaliation. President Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect March 4, though the rate was limited to 10% on Canadian energy. In response, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Canada, which is the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S., said it will place 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel products and also raise taxes on a range of items imported from the U.S., including tools, computers and servers, sports equipment, and cast-iron products.

The latest move by Mississauga’s mayor is another riposte to the Trump administration to demonstrate Canadian national pride in the face of tariffs and comments suggesting Canada should be the 51st U.S. state.

Before the 4 Nations Face-Off that pitted the U.S. against Canada, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated the president’s position in a briefing, saying: “We look forward to the United States beating our soon-to-be 51st state, Canada.”

Canadian NHL and NBA fans were so upset by Trump’s tariff threats and the escalating trade war that they booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at multiple home games in early February, including Senators-Wild and Clippers-Raptors. (The booing goes both ways: Rangers fans booed the Canadian anthem at a home game against the Maple Leafs on Feb. 28.)

Fans also booed the U.S. national anthem Saturday at Toronto FC’s home opener against the Chicago Fire.

According to a recent survey by market research firm Leger, two-thirds of Canadians have reduced their purchases of American products, both in stores (68%) and online (65%), and 71% report increasing their purchases of Canadian-made goods.