Justin Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada, showed up at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on June 12 to watch the United States men’s national team take on Paraguay in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He was not there to scout the competition for his home country’s squad. He was there as a spectator, cheering for the Americans.
At the exact same time, Canada was playing their own World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto. The match ended 1-1. Trudeau was roughly 3,500 kilometers away, sitting courtside for a different country’s game.
The optics problem
Trudeau wasn’t alone at SoFi Stadium. He was accompanied by pop star Katy Perry, who headlined the opening ceremony with a performance of her song “Wonder.” Perry reportedly arrived barefoot to embrace Trudeau after her set. The two have been publicly linked for roughly a year.
Canadian social media reacted about as well as you’d expect. Criticism flooded platforms including X, Reddit, and Instagram, with many users calling Trudeau a “fraud” and questioning his national loyalty.
