The Montreal Canadiens are the last Canadian team left in the NHL playoffs. So, naturally, there are a lot of bandwagoners jumping on from coast to coast to coast.
But before anyone starts calling them “Canada’s team,” it’s important to remember that they are, first and foremost, Quebec’s team.
Montreal Gazette writer Brendan Kelly literally wrote the book on this subject, called Habs Nation: A People’s History of the Montreal Canadiens. Biz is a rapper whose Habs anthem, Le but, is everywhere right now.
Today on Commotion, Brendan and Biz join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the team’s connection to the sovereignty movement, and why these playoffs are about something much bigger than hockey.
We’ve included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.
Elamin: How does cheering for the Habs connect with your goal of a sovereign Quebec?
Biz: Well, do you have an hour? We have to rewind it historically, because the team itself is so linked in Quebec history. Because at the beginning in 1909, this team was created by an English owner and exclusively with French players to gain the French market in Quebec. So he named the team after the name that Québécois, at this time, were calling themselves: “Canadien,” French-Canadian. So it’s quite funny because if this team was created today, we would call it “the Québécois” of Montreal, you know?
And the Canadiens, they branded it with the colours of the French flag, you know? So the red for Canadiens that you see … it’s not for Canada’s flag. It’s for the red of the French flag. And along the century, I would say, while Quebec’s people were dominated economically and politically by English Canada, the only way that we see, collectively, us as a winner was on the ice with, first, Maurice Richard, the great star of Montreal Canadiens…. After all those collective defeats, we were seeing ourselves like winners, and it was very satisfying….
Fans light candles as they watch the Montreal Canadiens play the Tampa Bay Lightning during NHL playoff hockey action in the Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l’Evangeliste in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Friday, April 24, 2026. (The Canadian Press/Edouard Desroches)
Elamin: Brendan, you’ve said that they’re not just a team, but they’re a part of who Quebecers are. You’ve written a whole book about this. How do you think the fortunes of the Montreal Canadiens end up connecting with the success of the sovereignist movement as they go hand in hand?
Brendan: The crazy thing is, it’s directly tied to the sovereignty movement, much as GeoffMolson, the owner of the Canadiens, would hate to hear this. But you know what — and I really saw this researching the book — from 1955 to 1995, that was the glory days of the team, and they won 17 of their 24 Stanley Cups. And that was when the team was at its most Quebecois. And it’s also the greatest period of nationalism…. because there’s the first referendum in 1980, the second in 1995. So in the ’70s, when they have the best team ever and they’re called “the flying Frenchmen,” and the stars, the leaders of the team are Serge Savard and Guy Lafleur, and before that Jean Béliveau and Henri Richard, and as Biz says Maurice Richard. So they’re the Quebecois French-Canadian heroes. And when nationalism is booming, they’re doing great.
And then in the ’80s, for example, when nationalism kind of takes a dip after that defeat in the first referendum, troubled times for the Canadiens. Then, they win their last cup in 1993. And then 1995 is the turning point year for the club. They fire Serge Savard, they trade Patrick Roy for a bag of pucks, and they go into a 25-year tailspin. Well, the exact same fall is the second referendum — almost won by the nationalists. As if we’re talking in hockey terms, it’s almost a tie game, but the “no” side wins and referendums disappear. And guess what? This is a crazy thing. I wrote this book two years ago and … the referendum’s back in the picture, and the Habs are back, and probably the Parti Québécois could well win the election. So there really is, you know, kind of a direct tie. It’s kind of freaky.…
Elamin: Biz, as much as this is Quebec’s team … this is a moment where the Habs are Canada’s team. How does that land for you? I heard a little laugh there as I said that out loud.
Biz: You know, everybody’s welcome aboard to cheer for the team. But at least you must know what team you’re cheering for. It’s like in soccer, for example, you have Barcelona, which is a Catalan team with a lot of Catalan players in it. So if you’re cheering for Barca, you don’t have to be a Catalan, but you have to know the importance that this team has to Catalan people.
So, you’re welcome aboard, and it’s very cool to see people in Montreal, all across Quebec and even outside Quebec cheering for the Habs. But you must know that “Habs,” for example, it’s from “habitant,” which [is the] French word for, let’s say— how would you call, Brendan?
Brendan: Well, it’s the original settlers of French Canada, of Nouvelle-France, right? Les Habitants.
You can listen to the full discussion from today’s show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Panel produced by Jess Low.
