EXCLUSIVEREVEALED: One in five Canadians believe Wayne Gretzky should make drastic move over Trump friendship READ MORE: Vladimir Putin breaks silence on ally Alex Ovechkin's record By ALEX RASKIN Published: 17:46 BST, 21 April 2025 | Updated: 17:54 BST, 21 April 2025 MAGA-land's resident Canadian should relocate to the United States, according to a fifth of all respondents in a new poll from DailyMail.com and J.L. Partners. Wayne Gretzky, a national hero in his native Canada, has faced criticism in his home country amid his embrace of US President Donald Trump. Now, in an online survey of more than 1,000 Canadians, one fifth said they felt Gretzky should stay in the US. Another 20 percent of respondents said Gretzky 'should apologize and end his friendship with Donald Trump,' while 40 percent said he remains a 'Canadian legend, regardless of his friendship' with the 47th President. A Florida resident who previously lived in Arizona and Los Angeles, Gretzky has been in the news a lot lately, both because his NHL scoring record was broken by Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin and due to criticism he's faced in Canada over his ties to Trump. Even as Ovechkin was surpassing Gretzky with his 895th career goal earlier this month, 'The Great One' was seated alongside Trump insider and FBI Director Kash Patel at UBS Arena on Long Island. Both conservative and liberal Canadians have taken issue with Trump, who has stated on multiple occasions his desire to make Canada America's 51st. What's more, he's since doubled down on the animosity between the two countries by adding tariffs to Canadian goods. Gretzky has stayed silent on Trump's tariffs against the US as the president has frequently stated his desire to make Canada the '51st state' and name Gretzky the 'governor' Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet Jones arrive for the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 20 Thursday Patel watched Ovechkin with Gretzky and Bettman at Capital One Arena in DC BREAKING NEWS Lionel Messi sends emotional tribute to the Pope following his death aged 88 Last month, a famed Gretzky statue in Edmonton was smeared with feces after the Oilers legend attended post-election parties at the President's club in Palm Beach, Florida as well as the inauguration in Washington. But, amid the two countries' unfolding trade war, it was Gretzky's presence as Team Canada's honorary captain at the NHL's recent 4 Nations championship that really infuriated some of his countrymen. Many have criticized Gretzky for failing to wear team colors at Canada's overtime win over Team USA in Boston. Others, meanwhile, focused on Gretzky's ties to Trump. 'Just going to state this matter-of-factly,' Canadian-based TSN reporter Dave Naylor wrote on X, 'the honorary captain for Canada in this game publicly supports a political leader whose position is that Canada should not exist as a nation.' But he did get support from a fellow Hockey Hall of Famer in Boston Bruins great Bobby Orr. In an op-ed piece for the Toronto Sun, the Ontario native defended Gretzky, who famously won several major international competitions as captain of Team Canada during his playing days. 'For the life of me, I cannot understand why the 'haters' have decided to go after Wayne because he 'didn't wear a Canadian jersey' during his introduction at the final match,' Orr wrote. 'I, for one, thought that he looked very dignified while representing Canada with class and professionalism. 'Remember, this is a man who wore the Maple Leaf on multiple occasions with pride,' Orr continued. 'As both a player and administrator, he has brought nothing but glory to his homeland year after year, decade after decade.' Curiously, Orr's column makes no direct mention of Trump. While Team USA's honorary captain Mike Eruzione (near left) wore a replica jersey at Thursday's 4 Nations finale, Canada's honorary captain Wayne Gretzky (near right) did not A famed statue of Wayne Gretzky outside Rogers Center has been smeared with feces This isn't the first time Canada has been at war with itself over Gretzky. The trade that sent him from Edmonton to Los Angeles continues to haunt the country, even after the Oilers won the 1990 Stanley Cup without him. Then there was Gretzky's support for then-President George W. Bush's controversial 'War on Terror' in 2003. With the country divided America's invasion of Iraq, critics hung a sign reading 'U$ Lackey'' around a Gretzky statue in Edmonton. Gretzky did attend Trump's election victory party at Mar-a-Lago, where the two golf aficionados and their families were seen celebrating together. Janet Jones, Gretzky's long-time wife and Missouri native, shared a picture of her husband with Trump on social media, which appeared to anger liberal hockey fans last month. 'You have to really question someone's ethics and logic supporting someone like Trump,' one user posted. 'Apparently there is an inverse relationship between hockey skills and intelligence,' another added. One said: 'Few things on earth more embarrassing than Canadian maga weirdos'. Share or comment on this article: REVEALED: One in five Canadians believe Wayne Gretzky should make drastic move over Trump friendship Add comment