The way the Invictus Games are usually set up, Prince Harry gets some face time with the host country’s leader or head of state at the beginning of the games, then the head of state will attend a few events on one of the final days of the games. The head of state will almost always attend the closing ceremony as well. That’s what happened over the weekend in Canada – Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau waited until Sunday, the final day of Invictus, to attend some of the last events, and then he made a beautiful speech at the Closing Ceremony. The photos of Trudeau and Prince Harry sitting together and greeting each other are lovely, btw. It reminds me of when The Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander attended some of The Hague events and he and Harry had a great time together.

The Invictus Games came during a tricky and terrible time in Canada-US relations, with the Trump administration’s open threats and hostilities towards our northern neighbor and close ally. On Saturday, the US and Canada played each other in the 4 Nations hockey tournament. They played in Montreal and Canadian hockey fans booed Americans and the “Star Spangled Banner.” Can I just say? As an American, I’m fine with Canadians booing our anthem. The current administration is f–king awful and I hope Canadians know that we still love y’all and we completely understand why you’re mad, and a lot of us hate Trump too. Anyway, Team USA beat Canada (lol). At the Invictus Games the next day, Trudeau made special mention of America’s Invictus veterans and the relationship between Canada and the US.

During his speech, Trudeau addressed Team U.S., telling the crowd: “If you’ll permit me, a quick word to the American team — our neighbors, our allies, our friends. I’m reminded of that old joke: I went to a fight last night, and a hockey game broke out,” he said in an apparent reference to the USA vs. Canada NHL 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 15, which the U.S. won.

“I know, my American friends, you’ve been reminded this past week that your Canadian friends and every other competitor in this place is just as proud to fight for their flags as you are to fight for yours — the stars and stripes,” he said.

“We all stand proudly together. We all believe in a future where we have values and a friendship that endures the test of time,” he continued. “We have stood together for generations and Canada and Canadians will never stop fighting for the friendship that unites our two countries through tough times and through the best times in the world. Americans are our friends, always. And we are yours.”

[From People]

Like… this legitimately made me tear up. To think about how f–king disrespectful and hostile the Trump people have been about Canada, it’s beautiful that Trudeau is like, big picture time, Canada and the US will always be neighbors and friends, we’ll always fight for you.

In Trudeau’s Closing Ceremony speech, he honored Harry as founder of the Invictus Games, for changing the lives of so many veterans and so many military families. Harry was visibly choked up as everyone in the stadium gave him a standing ovation. I’m also including Harry’s closing ceremony speech (I couldn’t find Trudeau’s speech on YouTube, that’s why I’m using the social media video).

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.