‘The Canadians are like, ‘We hate you’‘: Comedian Jim Gaffigan on recent Vancouver visit

Jim Gaffigan arrives at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) (Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Stand-up comedy star Jim Gaffigan loves performing in Vancouver, but he detected a vibe shift when it comes to how Canadians feel about their neighbours when he performed in the city recently.

The American shared those sentiments on a recent episode of the comedy podcast “We Might be Drunk,” recounting his time in B.C. when he performed at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre April 3 to 5.

“Those audiences in Vancouver were amazing,” Gaffigan told hosts Sam Morill and Mark Normand, who agreed.

He went on to describe the way different audiences around the world respond to jokes about the U.S., saying Europeans are often a bit “condescending,” but Canadians “were always there” and had their backs.

Gaffigan says that has changed.

“They Canadians were always…‘you know it’s not you; it’s your government,’” Gaffigan said. “Now the Canadians are like, ‘We hate you.’ They’re furious.”

The comedian recounted coming face-to-face with Canada’s retaliation to Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats when he tried to order bourbon at a Vancouver whiskey bar.

“I like bourbon, and so I’m like, ‘alright I’m gonna get a bourbon’—no bourbon,” he said.

“I go, ‘this is a world whisky bar’ and they’re like, ‘no we’re not selling any American whiskey.’ And I go, ‘so did you get rid of it?’ and they’re like, ‘oh it’s back there, we’re just not selling it.’”

Gaffigan added when he returned to his hotel—owned by an American company—he was able to drink some bourbon there.

When promoting his local shows earlier this month, Gaffigan wrote on Instagram that he spent three months of the pandemic in “this peace of heaven,” accompanied by a clip of him poking fun at the rain and how many places in B.C. are named Vancouver.