Mike Myers backs Mark Carney with ‘elbows up’ ad aimed at Trump

Article content

Mike Myers is throwing his support behind Prime Minister Mark Carney with a new ad aimed to tug at the patriotic heartstrings of Canadian voters and fears over U.S. President Donald Trump.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Posted Saturday evening to Carney’s social media feeds ahead of Sunday’s election call, the nearly one-minute spot shows the newly-minted Liberal leader taking in a hockey game in a Team Canada jersey when Myers shows up at the rink wearing the same kit.

“Mike Myers, what are you doing here?” Carney says, feigning surprise as he stands in front of a hastily pinned up Canadian flag. “I just thought I’d come up, and check on things,” Myers responds, alluding to the economic unrest being posed by Trump’s tariffs and his constant chatter about Canada becoming America’s 51st state.

“But, you live in the States,” Carney says. “Yeah … so? … I’ll always be Canadian,” the Toronto-born comedian fires back.

Carney then interrogates Myers with a series of questions aiming to test his knowledge of Canada.

Article content

“Do you remember Mr. Dressup? What were the names of Mr. Dressup’s two puppet friends?” Carney asks.

“Casey and Finnegan,” Myers answers, correctly.

The Saturday Night Live alum easily aces the rest of Carney’s quiz, including one about his hometown (“What are the two seasons in Toronto?”) and his knowledge of hockey (“You’re a defenceman defending a two-on-one, what do you do?”).

“Wow, you really are Canadian,” Carney compliments Myers after he gets every softball answer right.

Article content

Article content

The ad, which generated over 4.7 million views on X, ends with Myers asking Carney a question that’s been on the minds of a lot of Canadians lately: “Let me ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, will there always be a Canada?”

“There will always be a Canada,” Carney says confidently. 

“Alright, elbows up,” Myers says as the spot ends, reiterating a rallying cry that references a common hockey term used to signal it’s time to fight back. The camera then shows him from behind with his jersey emblazoned with the slogan “Never 51.”

Trump has been continually questioning Canada’s sovereignty since being re-elected president last November, referring to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” and saying the country is a “serious contender” to become America’s 51st state.

Article content

“We don’t need anything from Canada,” Trump said Friday. “It costs us $200 billion a year in subsidies to keep Canada afloat. So, when I say they should be a state, I mean that because we can’t be expected to carry a country that’s right next to us on our border. It would be a great state; it would be a cherished state. The taxes for Canadian citizens would go down (to) less than half. They don’t spend money on military because they think we’re going to protect them … They’re tough traders … You know the expression I use, ‘Some people don’t have the cards.’”

Article content

In an interview with Fox News last month, Trump accused Canada of stealing automotive jobs from America.

“If you look at Canada, Canada has a very big car industry. They stole it from us. They stole it because our people were asleep at the wheel,” Trump said. “If we don’t make a deal with Canada, we’re going to put a big tariff on cars. Could be 50 or 100% because we don’t want their cars. We want to make the cars in Detroit.”

The latest comes as Trump plans to impose a wide swath of tariffs on countries around the world on April 2nd.

“April 2 is a liberating day for our country,” Trump said to reporters last week. “We’re getting back to some of the wealth that very, very foolish presidents gave away because they had no clue what they were doing.”

Article content

Myers’ appearance alongside Carney comes after he mocked Elon Musk in an SNL skit that featured Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) and Vice President JD Vance (Bowen Yang) berating Zelenskyy (Mikey Day) earlier this month.

Article content

The Austin Powers star returned at the end of the episode sporting a black “Canada is not for sale” T-shirt that featured the Canadian flag. As the credits rolled, Myers mouthed “elbows up” to the camera.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

Article content