In one of the most moving moments of the Games, U.S. athletes stood and showed their love for their Canadian comrades in arms after they were met with a smattering of boos during the opening ceremonies’ parade of nations. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Invictus Games 2025: The joys of overcoming obstacles in Vancouver-Whistler

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

The Invictus Games aren’t about medal counts, country pride or, least of all, politics. There are no national anthems sung at opening or closing ceremonies, nor at any medal presentations or victory parties.

And, so, what occurred at the conclusion of the joyous parade of nations that opened the seventh iteration of the Invictus Games at BC Place in Vancouver, coming when it did at a time of great tension between Canada and its neighbour and friend to the south, was all the more interesting.

The last three teams to enter the stadium ahead of the host nation were those of Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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• The mighty word
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American Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to discuss the two country’s shared goals. [U.S. State Department]

Good Allies: Historian Tim Cook talks his new book and how WW II shaped American-Canadian relations

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

On Jan. 29, 2025, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio amid a tenuous trade dispute between both countries. With President Donald Trump threatening 25 per cent tariffs on goods from his northern neighbour, officials from both sides sought common ground.

During the discussions, Joly gifted Rubio a copy of The Good Allies, a new book by Canadian military historian Tim Cook about the relationship between the two North American countries during the Second World War. In a note accompanying the gesture, she penned: “Marco, an example of what we can achieve when we work together.”

Cook, the chief historian at the Canadian War Museum and now the author of some 19 military history books, spoke to Legion Magazine about the modern why now, more than ever, Canada and America’s historical dynamic is important to understand.

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More from The Briefing

• Where the walls tell the tales: Exploring the Crow’s Nest Officers’ Club in St. John’s, N.L.
• Former defence chief Walter Natynczyk: Now Officer of the Order of Canada
• Bullets, beans and mouse holes: Talking urban operations with Major Jayson Geroux

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