Swift has no plans to visit Canada on her multicontinental tour.
- Author, Holly Honderich
- to roll, From BBC News to Washington
It’s a good time to be a Swiftie. The 33-year-old singer is in the midst of her biggest ever stadium tour – with a three-hour, 40-song set spanning all eras of her career. Since 2019, she has released four albums and two reissues, including her beloved 2010 album Speak Now.
However, Canadian Taylor Swift fans aren’t so thrilled. The Eras Tour, which began in March, includes more than 100 shows through summer 2024 in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil. But, at least for now, Swift has no plans to perform in Canada. Has she forgotten the existence of the country?
The apparent snub inspired Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to personally appeal to Swift. After announcing 14 more shows next year in the UK and Europe, Trudeau appeared on his Twitter replies, asking him to reconsider the schedule.
“It’s me hi,” Trudeau wrote, referencing Swift’s song Anti-Hero. “I know some places in Canada would love to have you. So don’t make this summer cruel. We hope to see you soon.”
It seems Trudeau speaks for many other Swifties who feel exiled up north, wondering why they can’t have some cool experiences.
“It’s devastating,” said Toronto chief marketing officer Leila Title, 33. “Disappointment is the best way to describe it.”
At first, Title envisioned that Swift would include Canadian dates throughout the international tour. And when shows for Mexico and South America were announced, with nothing planned north of the US border, she began to worry that it would fail.
“I still think it’s possible. I still have to think it’s possible,” she said of a Canadian tour. “But it’s less and less likely.”
Another Toronto resident, Jackie Engelberg, had hoped to see Swift at one of her New York shows in May 2023, her “only option” without a stopover in Canada. But despite Engelberg’s best efforts — “fighting Ticketmaster bots, going after resale sites” — she couldn’t find an affordable ticket.
So, like Title, Engelberg thought he would wait for the announcement of the Canadian tour.
“Every other tour she’s done, even the stadium-only ones, at least there are Canadian dates included,” Engelberg said. But when the opportunity for a Canadian publicity came and went, she worried she would miss a Taylor Swift tour – which would have been the longtime fan’s first.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed, like all of my fellow Swifties in Canada,” Engelberg said.
She was surprised to see small cities like Warsaw selected for a three-show season, while Toronto – the fourth largest city in North America – was passed over.
Credit, TERENCE RUSHIN/TAS23
Canadian fans hope Swift changes her mind
“Given the huge population in our city and all the fans here, I’m sure Taylor would sell multiple stadiums,” Engelberg said.
So why is Taylor Swift fleeing Canada?
She still hasn’t told us why. No reason was given by Swift or her team and her label did not respond to questions from the BBC.
Some have speculated that it could be due to the size of the venue. Canada’s largest arena, Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, seats just over 56,300 spectators. This equates to a fraction of the capacity of venues like Wembley, London – 90,000 – or MetLife, New Jersey – 82,500.
But that doesn’t mean Swift avoids all small venues. She will give two concerts at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which can accommodate 50,000 people, and one night at the Ernst Happel Stadion, in Vienna, which can accommodate just under 51,000 spectators.
Others wonder if it’s the weakness of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar – the exchange rate is now around 1.33 Canadian dollars for every US dollar.
But that hasn’t stopped other great artists, including Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran, from performing in Canada.
For now, at least, Swift’s silence has Canadian fans worried.
“All I want is for Taylor to come here,” Title said. “And I would go across the country.”
“Prone to fits of apathy. Beer evangelist. Incurable coffeeaholic. Internet expert.”
