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

From Hockey to shovelling snow to a Tim Horton's Double Double, there has been a rise in songs celebrating all things Canadian in response to the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States. These songs may be going viral, but songs of extreme national pride have not always been popular in Canada. Emily Ansari is a music professor at Western University. She speaks about this trend in an interview with CBC Afternoon Drive host Matt Allen. 

The following has been edited for length and clarity:

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

Emily Ansari: I think in Canada, we haven't had a long history of patriotic music. We certainly have a history of songs that are about Canada or that perhaps express sort of sentimental ideas about Canada and Canadianness and Canadian landscapes. But we don't really have a strong history of patriotic songs beyond the anthem. And I think that is changing.

MA: Why has there not been a lot of national pride expressed in Canadian music?

EA: I think Canadians have a different attitude toward national identity than citizens of some other countries, perhaps most notably the United States. I think there's a feeling that some level of patriotism is appropriate, but a kind of aggressive, jingoistic nationalism—the kind of nationalism where we think that our country is better than other countries—that is something that I think Canadians tend to think is not in good taste.

MA: What do you think it is about the current political climate that has given rise to all of this music?

EA: Well, certainly, the tariff war and the threats to Canada as a country have brought about a whole new set of feelings in Canadians, right? Maybe also just our awareness of what a great country it is that we live in. I'm an immigrant, but I, too, have strong feelings about what a great country Canada is at this moment. And I think when something is under threat, you appreciate it even more, right? When something could be lost, you want to hold on to it. I think that feeling is all around us with the Buy Canada movement, the booing towards the national anthem at sporting events, but also in a whole set of new pop songs that have been coming out.

MA: You wrote an article in which you listed a few songs that are examples of Canadian nationalism. The first one is "I'm a Canadian" by Tom Green.

EA: What Tom Green seems to be trying to do here is more directed at Canadians and kind of rallying this mood of national pride. He does so through the most endearing and adorable aspects of Canadian identity right? Our food, our landscapes, and things that set us apart, but in a not-at-all-aggressive way.

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

MA: The tone is different in this one, it's almost like a breakup song. 

EA: My sense is that this one is more directed at Americans, right? And more grieving a friendship that seems to be on the wane. He tells the story of all the things that we used to do together. And by the way, he also kind of references moments where we stood up for the United States and did things that were difficult. It's just a kind of a gentle reminder as well of, you know, we've been pretty good friends to you, and you might want to remember that. It's still friendly, it's still kind, and it comes from a good place. 

MA: Our next song is "Elbows Up, Canada." which has been more of a rallying cry, I think. 

MA: Lots of aggressive talk in this song. The term "elbows up" is very symbolic of the message of that song.

EA: This seems to be the phrase of the last couple of weeks ever since that Saturday Night Live appearance from Mike Myers. The music also has a country style, which is very much the language of American musical nationalism as well, right? Which is kind of interesting—a very different musical language from the other songs that you played.

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

EA: I think it feels needed at this moment. I think we feel the need to express shared perspectives in a moment where we feel deeply threatened and challenged. And I think a lot of us are dealing with those feelings individually. Music allows others to connect, and we all can kind of connect through the music to those shared emotions. So that's a positive thing because it helps us process that difficult experience we're going through. Of course, where it can get more tricky is where musical nationalism moves over into something that is more aggressive, more exceptionalist. I think it will be interesting to see how the music changes if that sentiment shifts. At what point will we move into something that looks more like, "No, we're better than you."?