‘Elbows up’ a rally cry for all of Canada to get behind

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This article was published 17/03/2025 (236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can something so wrong feel so right?

We’re all adults here. We know how to use our indoor voices. We know violence doesn’t solve anything. We adults know all these things as sure as we know our own names.

Then why are we, as Canadians, rushing to embrace “elbows up” as an expression of national identity?

Unless your Wi-Fi is on the fritz, you’ll know this amusing bit of hockey jargon has become the rallying cry of the newly forged chorus of patriots formed in the wake of the dismissive, disdainful treatment Canada has suffered at the hands of U.S. President Donald Trump.

From potential economy-crippling tariffs, to continued musings about how Canada should abandon its identity and ask to join the United States, Trump has put new fuel into the furnace that holds our typically underwhelming national pride. That has manifested in an obsession among Canadians, and Canadian expats abroad, to raise one elbow and point at it menacingly.

Elbows up is all over social media, with TikTok aficionados offering all kinds of performance art. Expat comedian Mike Myers drew headlines for two appearances on Saturday Night Live in which he made his feelings known about Trump’s dream of absorbing Canada as a 51st state.

Myers appeared during the closing credits on March 1, standing silently while pointing to his “Canada is not for sale” T-shirt. He was at SNL again on March 8, this time playing residential adviser Elon Musk in a skit. During the closing credits, Myers raised his right elbow several times while silently mouthing the words “elbows up.”

Elbows up is not, as many commentators from abroad have claimed, a defensive posture; it’s pure offence. A sneaky and somewhat vicious act of vengeance.

It’s safe to say elbows up is way better than previous efforts at establishing a mantra or slogan for our newly stoked patriotism. “Canada is not for sale” or “Make America Go Away” — a send-up of Trump’s MAGA movement — were great as product marketing, but not so great at describing our patriotic rage.

Still, where the heck does elbows up come from? Various efforts to identify the origins of the term have been, in and of themselves, an amusing exercise.

It’s definitely taken from hockey parlance. Some have attributed it to NHL legend Gordie Howe — Canada’s “Mr. Hockey” — whose superlative skill was only exceeded by his truculent disposition. You’ve heard of the so-called Gordie Howe hat trick? A goal, an assist and a fight.

Howe did not coin the term, but he remains the embodiment of it. Elbows up is not, as many commentators from abroad have claimed, a defensive posture; it’s pure offence. A sneaky and somewhat vicious act of vengeance.

“If a guy slashed me,” he was quoted as saying somewhere, sometime, “I’d grab his stick, pull him up alongside me and elbow him in the head.”

The quote reveals that in its purest form, elbows up means, ‘Come near me and you’re gonna pay.’

Through this new rally cry, Canada is definitely showing the rest of the world a lesser-known side of our personality.

Canadians have never been quite as “nice” as the citizens of other countries like to think we are.

Canadians have never been quite as “nice” as the citizens of other countries like to think we are. In fact, our battle with Trump has revealed we are a country that embraces a truly split personality.

We’ll hold the door open for you even if you don’t say “thank you,” and be the first to apologize when you bump into us. But cross us, or keep telling a joke about Canada becoming the 51st state that we don’t think is funny, and we’ll give you a proper beating.

The timing of the elbows up revolution could not be more profound in the context of other, domestic events that are unfolding.

Before the Trumpian threats to our economy and sovereignty, Canadians were predominantly focused on thrashing prime minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government. Canadians were angry and readying themselves to deliver some harsh electoral justice.

Among the ranks of the angry were self-professed patriots — largely provoked by pandemic-era restrictions and vaccine mandates — who took pleasure in howling about how Canada was ruled by a dictator and how the country was “broken.”

Now, the angry patriots want to smash bottles of Kentucky bourbon and dare an American to look at them the wrong way. Just as surprising is the fact they now feel a kinship to Canadians of all political stripes.

The angriest patriots are still unlikely to support Liberal candidates in the soon-to-be-called federal election. But there is a new focus for the country’s anger, and it has totally upended the dynamics of politics in this country.

One last thought.

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Newly sworn-in Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has never run for political office before, has precious little time to forge a relationship with voters.

The quickest way for Carney to build a political brand is to find an opportunity in the near future to meet with White House officials, grab one of Trump’s cabinet secretaries, pull his jacket over his head and feed him an endless course of uppercuts.

As an adult, I know that kind of behaviour would be so wrong.

But it would feel so good.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Dan Lett
Columnist

Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986.  Read more about Dan.

Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.