Keller: USA Canada rivalry not just about hockey anymore
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
The United States and Canada will have their rematch in the 4 Nations Face-Off at TD Garden in Boston Thursday night, as a tariff dispute between the countries simmers off the ice.
Before their first game last week, the crowd in Montreal started booing as soon as the Star-Spangled Banner started up. What could make our friendly neighbors to the north so furious with us?
Annexing Canada?
"I think Canada is going to be a very serious contender to be our 51st state," President Donald Trump said recently.
His threat of annexation and onerous tariffs on Canadian goods is dismissed as tactical bluster by some. But if you think Canadians will just let this slide with a little booing, better think again.
"I think there's that stereotype from the States that, oh, Canadians are so nice, they're so passive, they'll go along with anything. That is not how we're viewing this situation," said a woman in Canada.
Canadian flag sales are through the roof since the Trump threats began. And new polling shows the depth of the Canadian backlash. Their once-friendly view of the U.S. has imploded, with a 23% swing from positive to negative.
Canada's ties to Massachusetts
"This has kind of brought us together in a lot of ways," said Bernadette Jordan, Canada's Boston-based Consul General to New England.
She said she never thought she'd see the day when such close allies would fall out this way. And she warns that the economic implications for Massachusetts could be serious.
"Eight out of 10 cars on Boston roads are fueled by gas from Canada, most people don't realize that," said Jordan. "Your barley and your malts in your craft beer, it's the aluminum that makes those beer kegs. Both countries are better because we prosper together and trying to untangle that, I think, is going to be detrimental to both our countries."
The end of the 30-day delay in slapping huge tariffs on Canada is fast approaching, and Canada has only offered fig-leaf concessions to Trump's demands. Meanwhile, his Canada-would-make-a-great-51st-state rhetoric has continued unabated, and there are signs it could hurt the major tourism business we do around here from Canadians.
Maybe saner heads will prevail and Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can settle this beef the old fashioned way - by dropping the gloves and going at it at center ice.
