Tate McRae’s Olympic ad is not politically neutral

It was surprising to many Canadians to see Tate McRae — born and raised in Calgary, Alberta — front and centre in a promotional ad for Team USA ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In the ad, McRae skis through the Italian Alps, talks about meeting Team USA athletes, and hyping United States (U.S.) skating and football moments. 

It may be easy for some to shrug this off as a marketing decision. Or some might dismiss it as just another piece of celebrity branding. Still, this moment feels significant. For a Canadian artist publicly known as Canadian, this choice feels remarkably ill-timed. 

McRae’s response to the backlash was to post a childhood photo of herself on her Instagram story, holding a Canadian flag, insisting “y’all know I’m Canada down.” Nostalgia, however, is not a substitute for accountability. The question remains: why did a Canadian artist choose to lend her platform to another country’s Olympic campaign while her own went entirely unacknowledged?

At its core, it isn’t about surface-level patriotism or online outrage. It’s about priorities and values. The Olympics are not just another marketing backdrop. For many Canadians, it is a time to celebrate moments of collective national pride. When a Canadian pop star appears in an ad that promotes another national team, it sends the message that commercial appeal outweighs cultural allegiance. That tone-deafness is particularly glaring now. Political and economic relations between the U.S. and Canada remain strained. Furthermore, conversations about national identity are at the forefront of many Canadians’ minds. 

The context matters even more when considering how McRae’s career benefited from Canadian support. Canadian artists break into global markets through systems deliberately designed to protect domestic talent in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by the U. S.. This ranges from Canadian content requirements on commercial ratio to broader institutional and media support. These policies exist to ensure Canadian voices are not sidelined. McRae’s early visibility and continued success were shaped, in part, by those systems. Systems rooted in the belief that Canadian success deserves protection. Benefiting from Canadian cultural policy while promoting another nation raises questions about loyalty. Canadian identity cannot be something artists invoke only when it’s commercially convenient. 

The timing is also particularly fraught given McRae’s roots in Alberta. As separatist rhetoric resurfaces in the province, public figures inevitably become symbols of regional and national identity, whether they intend to or not. High-profile cultural moments shape perception. Seeing a Calgary-born artist promote the U.S. does little to reinforce the idea that Canadian unity is being taken seriously. 

Critics aren’t asking her to reject a global audience. They only want her to recognize that symbolic stages like the Olympics demand clarity about where you stand. McRae can still be proud of her Canadian roots. Not every decision has to be patriotic — but pretending it’s apolitical doesn’t make it so.