'Boyfriend duties call,' Trudeau says after skipping Canada match to watch Perry

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.