Swearing that he’s a “true Canadian,” Wayne Gretzky is cheering for Canada in the Olympics
What if Canada ends up playing the US in the final, Wayne? What then?
Despite his MAGA associations, Wayne Gretzky appeared today on the CBC’s broadcast of the men’s Olympic semi-final hockey game to assure us that he’s “a true Canadian.”
Related: The Gretzky statues in Brantford got a mysterious MAGA makeover
On a panel of commentators, Gretzky was asked for his thoughts on tensions between Canada and the US. The hockey great attended the inauguration of US President Donald Trump and has been spotted several times at Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, amid ongoing American tariffs and Trump’s repeated “51st state” comments.
“First of all, let’s worry about the game, right? That’s most important,” Gretzky replied, as reported by the Toronto Star. “Listen, I’m a hockey player, I’m a Canadian, I’m a true Canadian. I want Canada to win a gold medal.”
He added that the current troubled relations between Canada and the US are simply politics. “At the end of the day, Canada and the US are like brothers and sisters. They’re gonna fight and argue, but eventually you come together, right? And that’s the way I see it.”
Let’s check back in with him if Canada ends up playing the US in the final.
Related: P. K. Subban defended Wayne Gretzky’s MAGA associations in a recent interview
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
