What was supposed to be a celebratory moment for Canadian soccer fans during the opening round of the 2026 World Cup quickly turned into a social media firestorm after former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau missed his home nation’s first group stage match to attend the United States’ opening game alongside his partner, global pop superstar Katy Perry.
Canada kicked off its World Cup campaign in Toronto at 3:00 PM EDT on Friday, playing out a tense 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trudeau was notably absent from the stands for the historic home fixture. Instead, just six hours later, he was spotted in the crowd at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium for the USA’s match against Paraguay, which the American side won 4-1. Perry had been scheduled to perform at the U.S. hosting leg of the World Cup’s opening ceremony, leading Trudeau to offer a lighthearted justification for his conflicting schedule after drawing widespread criticism.
“Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call. But you know who I’m rooting for to take the Cup,” Trudeau wrote on his social media channels, paired with a Canadian flag emoji to clarify his official sporting allegiance.
Footage captured by event cameras shows Perry rushing off stage immediately after her performance to greet Trudeau with a warm kiss. Televised broadcasts of the match also repeatedly cut to the high-profile couple, who were seen relaxing in their box seats, sipping craft beers and sharing casual moments together as the game unfolded. But many Canadian social media users were far from amused by Trudeau’s choice to prioritize his partner’s performance over his home country’s opening World Cup match.
A user based in Toronto wrote on platform X that Trudeau’s decision was “a slap in the face of this country. Distasteful doesn’t begin to cover it”. As clips of the couple in Los Angeles spread virally across social platforms, other users went even further, labeling the former prime minister a “traitor” and a “fraud” for his scheduling conflict.
For her opening ceremony set, Perry performed *Wonder*, a relatively underrated ballad from her 2024 studio album 143. Ahead of the performance, she told People Magazine that she intentionally chose to forgo one of her decades of chart-topping hits – a catalog that includes global smashes like *California Gurls*, *Teenage Dream*, *Firework*, and *E.T.* – in favor of the newer track. “It’s very fitting for the ceremonial song that I get to sing,” she explained of her song selection.
The high-profile relationship between Trudeau and Perry first made tabloid headlines in July 2025, and the pair officially confirmed their romance with a joint Instagram post that December. Before their relationship, Trudeau was married to Canadian television host Sophie Grégoire for 18 years; the couple announced their separation in 2023 and share three children. Perry was previously married to English comedian Russell Brand from 2010 to 2012.