‘I’m a Canadian’: Wayne Gretzky defends heritage amidst friendship with Donald Trump
Wayne Gretzky’s relationship with Canada has certainly seen better days.
The NHL legend was synonymous with Canada for a majority of his life, but the past couple years has seen many Canadian sports fans waver. But Gretzky wants Canadians to know that he is still loyal to his country, and that has never changed, something he clarified during a pregame segment on CBC ahead of Friday’s semifinal matchup between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy.
Wayne Gretzky on CBC: “I’m a hockey player. I’m a Canadian, a true Canadian. I want Canada 🇨🇦 to win a gold medal. I’ve never wavered from that. I’ve been friends with prime minsters and presidents. Somehow there’s been a little bit more tension than normal. At the end of the Show more
“I’m a hockey player. I’m a Canadian, a true Canadian,” Gretzky said on CBC. “I want Canada to win a gold medal. I’ve never wavered from that. I’ve been friends with prime minsters and presidents. Somehow there’s been a little bit more tension than normal. At the end of the day, Canada and the US are like brothers and sisters, they’re gonna fight and argue but eventually they’ll come together. That’s the way I see it.”
Gretzky has lost the favour of many Canadian hockey fans due to his recent relationship with United States president Donald Trump. The Republican party leader is one of the more controversial figures in politics for a multitude of reasons, but the main reason Canadians don’t like him is because of his threats of annexing Canada and making the country “the 51st state” of the United States since retaining his role as President last year.
Because of that, Canadians view Gretzky’s relationship with Trump as something on the level of treason. Considering that Gretzky also primarily lives in the United States now and occasionally works on a U.S. broadcast, it’s easy to see why Canadians can see things that way when he’s constantly hanging out with Trump.
Gretzky’s Canadian legacy comes from his legendary career in the NHL, where he spent 20 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He collected 894 goals, 1,963 assists and an all-time best 2,857 points in 1,487 regular season games, along with 122 goals, 260 assists and 382 points in 208 playoff games. He won four Stanley Cups, nine Hart Trophies, 10 Art Ross Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies, five Lester B. Pearson Trophies and five Lady Byng Trophies in his career.