Justin Trudeau responds to backlash after skipping Canada World Cup game for girlfriend Katy Perry

Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has hit back at critics after skipping Canada's opening World Cup match to watch his girlfriend Katy Perry perform at the tournament's US launch ceremony.

Trudeau, 54, chose to attend the Los Angeles opening ceremony on Friday rather than Canada's first game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a decision that didn't go unnoticed back home.

Perry was one of the headline acts at the SoFi Stadium event, marking the first World Cup match on US soil since 1994.

She performed her hit "Wonder" ahead of Team USA's 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in Mauricio Pochettino's side's opening fixture.

Responding to the criticism on X on Sunday, Trudeau was characteristically unbothered.

"Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call," he wrote, adding a Canadian flag emoji. "But you know who I'm rooting for to take the Cup."

Justin Trudeau has been dating Katy Perry since July 2025 (Photo by Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Images)

What happened at the USA World Cup opening ceremony?

The LA ceremony was a star-studded affair, with Perry joined on stage by Tyla, rapper Future, Brazilian singer Anitta, and Blackpink's Lisa.

Meanwhile, Canada's own opening ceremony in Toronto, which Trudeau notably did not attend, featured performances from Michael Bublé and Alanis Morissette, two of the country's most beloved musical exports.

The contrast wasn't lost on Canadian fans, many of whom pointed out the symbolism of their former leader choosing a Hollywood spectacle over a historic moment for Canadian football. It is the first time Canada has appeared in a World Cup since 1986, making Friday's opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina a genuinely landmark occasion for the nation.

Katy Perry split with Orlando Bloom in 2025 (Photo by Phillip Faraone/VF25/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

When did Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry start dating?

Trudeau and Perry's relationship was first rumoured in July 2025 before being confirmed in December, making the World Cup one of their most high-profile public appearances together as a couple.

The pair have kept things relatively low-key since going public, making Trudeau's very visible presence at the LA ceremony all the more notable, and all the more fodder for critics back home.

The former PM was previously married to broadcaster Sophie Grégoire Trudeau for 18 years before the pair split in 2023, and the two share three children together.

Trudeau stepped down as Liberal Party leader in January 2025, concluding a nine-year tenure as Canada's prime minister. Perry, meanwhile, announced her separation from actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares a daughter, Daisy Dove, last July, shortly before her relationship with Trudeau became public knowledge.