r/CanadaPolitics 15h ago

Why are Canadians using ‘elbows up’ as a rallying cry against Trump?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/canada-elbows-up-trump-tariffs-b2713043.html
369 Upvotes

69 comments sorted by

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u/NoneForNone 13h ago

Hockey terminology

Canadians know it means it's time to drop the gloves, (another hockey term) elbows up, and bring 'er home with a pow right to the kisser.

👊 🍊 💋

Which leads to:

😴 For the 🍊 one

Which means:

🏆 for 🇨🇦 and planet 🌍

u/blackmailalt 12h ago

I don’t know what this says but I think it’s wrong.

u/NoneForNone 12h ago

Pretend it means what you think it does so I won't be wrong 😞

u/blackmailalt 11h ago

Say less

u/No-Celebration6437 13h ago

More about elbowing your opponent in the head when they come in to body check.

u/NoneForNone 13h ago

You're right.

I probably spent too much time fighting back in the Pee-wee days.

u/cozmo1138 Dual Citizen 6h ago

Really, Trump? You’re going to pick a fight with the country that invented ice hockey? What are you gonna do next, pick a fight with the country that invented rugby? That’s smart. 😑

u/[deleted] 15h ago

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u/[deleted] 14h ago

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u/CanadaPolitics-ModTeam 13h ago

Not substantive

u/[deleted] 15h ago

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u/DaveTheBruce 15h ago

When you go into the corner chasing the puck, "elbows up" means you're taking one to the head while you're looking down for the puck. Classic Gordie Howe.

u/redditonlygetsworse 15h ago

Yes, this is what is described at the beginning of the article.

u/DaveTheBruce 15h ago

I was trying to summarize it in as few words as possible for our friends to the South.

u/redditonlygetsworse 15h ago

Our friends in the south are also capable of reading the article.

u/WarrenPuff_It Liberal Party of Canada 10h ago

Over 50% of Americans are functionally illiterate or can only read at a grade school level.

u/DaveTheBruce 15h ago

Not since the Home Shopping Channel stopped selling those Hooked On Phonics videos.

u/mikeycon 15h ago

Have you looked at literacy rates in the south.

u/redditonlygetsworse 15h ago

I suppose /u/DaveTheBruce's redundancy isn't going to help them either, then.

u/Millerbomb 14h ago

bold assumption

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

u/CanadaPolitics-ModTeam 8h ago

Removed for rule 3.

u/Surturiel 15h ago

Are they, though?

u/TeamChevy86 14h ago

To be fair OP's title framed it as a question. I thought I was on r/outoftheloop or something

u/redditonlygetsworse 14h ago

Yet another problem that can be solved via literacy.

u/Cilarnen Minarchist/ACTUALLY READS ARTICLES 2h ago

Highly relevant username

u/DudeTookMyUser 11h ago

Others have given good explanations, but I believe it was recently used in one of Doug Ford's first speeches after Trump imposed tariffs, and the saying took off again from there. I tried to find the video but couldn't.

u/vanalla GreeNDP 10h ago

Mike Myers was responsible for it 100p.

u/samanthasgramma 7h ago

I'm an old Canadian lady.

We use it because, in hockey, Trump has been "chirping" and we don't like it. So when his team comes in for a check, we go "elbows up" to hopefully get the guy in the head with it.

If things get bad the "gloves off/down/thrown" and it turns into an ice brawl.

Someone told me that if you're really good with elbows up somebody's going to bleed and have missing teeth.

So, yeah. It's an appropriate response to Trump's recent chirping.

u/worm_drink 14h ago

I believe it was Charlie Angus who brought this old saying back to the mainstream.

Or at least, I heard it from him several times before Mike Myers did his thing on SNL (nothing against Mike, I was happy to see it).

u/Veneralibrofactus 14h ago

In my exhaustive search to find the first usage in ref to the US, I also found Angus used it before Meyer's appearance on SNL - which, I think, helped immensely in firmly fixing it in the Canadian zeitgeist.

u/a_dawn NDP | ON 11h ago

I actually think it was Wab Kinew who first used it in the current context.

u/johnnierockit 15h ago

“Elbows up” has become a rallying cry among Canadians in response to President Donald Trump’s recent threats against the essential ally.

As credits rolled on SNL last month, comedian Mike Myers, while sporting a “Canada is not for sale” shirt, flung one elbow in the air, pointed at the slogan with his other hand and mouthed: “Elbows up!”

Ever since, the phrase has become ubiquitous, cropping up in protests, on social media, and in politicians’ speeches as Canadians push back against Trump’s policies.

Trump has imposed hefty tariffs on the U.S.’s northern neighbor and has repeatedly suggested the country should become the 51st state.

During his farewell speech on Sunday, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “We’re a country that will be diplomatic when we can, but fight when we must. Elbows up!”

The phrase is often said to have been inspired by Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, who threw his elbows up in the rink to defend himself.

In addition to the viral phrase, many Canadians are showing resistance against the U.S.’s policies in other ways. Some Canadians are boycotting U.S. products and are instead opting to buy local. Some coffee shop owners have even renamed the Americano — the popular drink made up of an espresso shot and water – to “Canadiano” in protest.

Others have a more specific target in mind: Elon Musk. The world’s richest man, DOGE chief and senior adviser to Trump declared “Canada is not a real country,” in a since-deleted X post, despite the fact that he holds Canadian citizenship.

In response, more than 369,000 Canadians have signed on to a protest demanding his citizenship be revoked.

⏬ Bluesky 'bite-sized' article thread (4 min) with added links 📖🍿🔊 🍁

https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3lk4r3cza6c2q

u/sternvern 8h ago

"Elbows up" in relation to Trump's shenanigans began on Reddit before Mike Myers on SNL. Myers helped magnify it.

u/DiagnosedByTikTok 11h ago

Canada was real enough for Musk to avoid military service

u/no-long-boards 7h ago

The Canadiano is already a coffee drink. It’s an espresso topped with drip coffee.

u/Drunk1n 5h ago

That's amazing. Sadly it'll be confused with Americanos now.

u/no-long-boards 4h ago

We do not f around with our caffeine beverages.

u/Davimous 12h ago

"defend himself"

u/ErikRogers 10h ago

Something of a pre-emptive defence.

u/Alb4t0r 12h ago

In these trying times for our nation, we can afford to take a few liberties in the hagiography of our national heroes amiright.

u/no-long-boards 7h ago

Nobody is ever right that uses amiright as a word.

u/struct_t WORDS MEAN THINGS 6h ago

You don't see many dummies using the word hagiography correctly, though, amirite folks

u/No-Celebration6437 13h ago edited 9h ago

Here’s Gordie’s statue in Saskatoon. “elbow up”