A look at Justin Bieber’s love for Canada as he announces Toronto Maple Leafs hockey partnership

Oh Canada! The home of hockey, maple syrup and poutine as well as the birthplace of some of the top entertainers of the 21st century.

Ryan Reynolds, Celine Dion and Justin Bieber are just some of the famous faces from the land of the Great White North, with the latter certainly coming a long way since his modest upbringing in Ontario.

The ‘Love Yourself’ singer recently expressed his love for Canada and its national sport of ice hockey as he announced a partnership with his clothing line Drew House joining forces with both his favourite team the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tim Hortons.

Justin said in an Instagram post: “Growing up in Canada and being a Leafs fan has always been one of the most meaningful things about life. Having these games to look forward to as a kid made for memories that I will cherish forever! I keep falling more in love with the game of hockey!

“I want people to know how fun it is and how cool it is and how it deeply connects families all around the world. One of my missions in life is to continue to help evolve the culture of hockey making it feel inclusive for everyone! Unfortunately hockey can be an expensive sport which is why we partnered up with Tim Hortons and the Toronto Maple Leafs to help in this area.”

Celebrating the partnership with his wife Hailey Bieber at a Leafs game on Wednesday night, Justin’s collaboration will allow young people everywhere to have access to the sport, being outfitted with equipment and training with skilled coaches as part of a new youth league.

Born in London, Ontario, Justin himself grew up playing hockey as a centre forward on the rink and has since played pick-up games alongside National Hockey League professionals such as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. 

The Leafs players voiced their surprise at Justin’s skills saying: “He’s actually better than I thought he is. I saw a video when he skated here the first time, you can’t see too much but he’s got really good hands and he’s got a pretty good shot on him.”

Bieber previously joined forces with Toronto Maple Leafs last year on a ‘Next Gen’ uniform and released a limited edition version of Tim Horton’s doughnut holes called TimBiebs in November 2021 which led to a huge rise in sales.

Despite setting up camp in America with his marital home in Los Angeles, Justin always seems to be drawn back to his home roots as he and Hailey bought a 101-acre property in Ontario for $5 million.

A source told People: “Justin loves being in Canada because it’s very peaceful. He can take Hailey out and it’s not a mess with photographers.”

Therefore, you can take the man out of Canada but you can’t take the Canadian out of the man.