Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to criticism for skipping his country's first World Cup match to attend a USA game, where his girlfriend, pop superstar Katy Perry, performed.

"Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call. But you know who I'm rooting for to take the Cup," he posted on social media, adding a Canadian flag emoji.

The opening matches in Toronto and Los Angeles took place hours apart.

Cameras caught Perry running off stage to greet the former Canadian leader with a kiss. Throughout the game, the pair were shown in televised clips sipping beers and canoodling in the stands. But online, some Canadians were not pleased.

One X user from Toronto called it a "a slap in the face of this country. Distasteful doesn't begin to cover it".

Others called Trudeau a "traitor" and a "fraud" as clips began to go viral on social media.

The former PM missed Canada's 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, which started at 15:00pm EDT on Friday.

Instead, he watched the USA beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles, with kick off at 21:00 EDT.

Perry helped open the first World Cup game in the US with a rendition of the little-known song Wonder from her 2024 album 143.

She had teased deciding against performing one of the hits in her rather lengthy catalogue of chart-toppers – from California Girls and Teenage Dream to Firework and ET - before the performance, telling People Magazine that she chose the relatively unknown ballad because "it's very fitting for the ceremonial song that I get to sing".

Trudeau and Perry have been publicly linked since July 2025. They officially confirmed their relationship with an Instagram post in December.

Trudeau was married for 18 years to TV host Sophie Grégoire, but they announced their split in 2023. They have three children. Perry was married to English comedian Russell Brand from 2010-12.