Down With Webster's YouTube views soar 500% after Mark Carney's dancing goes viral
Toronto rap-pop-rock band Down With Webster received a major boost after Prime Minister Mark Carney's win on April 28, with the group's YouTube daily view count increasing by more than 500 per cent after Carney danced to their 2010 song Whoa Is Me.
WATCH | Mark Carney dances to Down With Webster:
The group's daily YouTube viewer count was 5,949 on April 27 and by April 28, when they performed at the Liberal party's victory party, the daily count had soared to 35,816 viewers, according to data from Soundcharts.
Several YouTube users took to the comment section for Whoa Is Me to share that the newly elected prime minister is who prompted them to check out the band.
"Canadian here. I've never heard of this song before. I like it (A LOT)," wrote @joananne7802. "I saw a clip of our new Prime Minister rocking out to this, so that is how I landed here."
WATCH | The official music video for Whoa Is Me by Down With Webster:
"Thanks Carney for leading me to a new good song I never knew before," commented @JessicaD.
After going viral while wearing a piece of the band's merch, a red hoodie with its logo, the band shared that they were making it available on its website.
"Due to popular demand, we're making our 'Team Canada Jersey' available in the web store," they wrote. "It doesn't matter what party you choose, as long as you choose to party!"
Carney also played the band's song Time To Win at his rallies, and Down With Webster posted about his use of the track on Instagram on March 9, writing, "Great campaign song choice. Also throwing up the W like an absolute legend."
In the comments section for Time To Win, several users also shared that they listened to that song because of Carney.
"Who's here after Mark Carney won the election & saw him busting it down to this song?" commented @bapeater.
"This being the current Canadian PM's fav [sic] song was unexpected but cool af," commented @Hooy-H00y.
WATCH | The official music video for Time To Win by Down With Webster:
The band's bassist, Tyler Armes, shared on CBC's Commotion that Carney has been a big fan of Down With Webster for years.
"I know that over a decade ago when we were first starting to tour, I remember reading press that somebody in politics was a big fan…. So apparently he came to see a show and was watching the opening band, and wanted to know what all the commotion was about and why they were all sticking around for whoever was on after, and that was us," he told Commotion host Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
"So the way that I know that he's a die-hard fan is because the correspondence we had prior to showing up, the list of songs they wanted us to play, there were some deep cuts on there," he continued. "And it was clear that he was super involved in that process."
Armes added that he was "super impressed with his timing and his delivery" after Carney rapped to them backstage.
"I want to know what else he listens to because if you like our band, you like a lot of music, because our band is such a mashup of so many genres," he said.
WATCH | Tyler Armes talks about Mark Carney and Down With Webster on Commotion:
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Global News
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The target date for a new trade deal between Canada and the United States is a little over a week away, but one issue continues to be a sticking point between both nations: Canada's supply management. Supply management, which Canada uses in the dairy, poultry and egg sectors, has been a frequent target of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump throughout his threats of tariffs and claims that Canada is 'ripping us off.' Last month, while demanding Canada repeal its digital services tax, Trump said Canada was 'a very difficult Country to TRADE with,' claiming on his social media platform Truth Social that the country charges 'tariffs' of up to 400 per cent on dairy products. Canada uses a quota system that allows a set amount of some foreign dairy products into the country, and high tariffs only apply if countries try to exceed that allowed quota coming into Canada. Story continues below advertisement Canada's supply management system, which dates back to the 1970s, has restricted foreign access to the Canadian dairy market in order to protect domestic producers and set quality standards for products. Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed in the Liberal election platform that he will 'keep Canada's supply management off the table in any negotiations with the U.S.' So how does it work? What is supply management? The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — which Trump re-negotiated to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during his first term — narrowly expanded U.S. access to Canada's dairy market, which is protected under supply management rules. The rules, established in the 1970s, set production quotas for Canadian farmers, guarantee minimum prices, and maintain import and quality controls. Story continues below advertisement 'Producers have a licence to produce that's determined by their quota. Producers will only produce as much as the quota says they are allowed to produce or in fact to sell,' said Sven Anders, a resource economist at the University of Alberta. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Under CUSMA, the U.S. gets access to less than five per cent of the market. But the U.S. has launched multiple disputes claiming Canada is intentionally bottlenecking those U.S. imports through tariff rate quotas, which put limits on how many exporters qualify for the cheaper duties. The issue of supply management for farmers might end up being an issue both sides are unwilling to move on. For one, most Canadian politicians are staunchly in support of the policy. 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He said small Canadian dairy farms would be unable to withstand the pressure of open competition from the U.S. Story continues below advertisement 'These farms would have to merge their way up into these mega farms like you see in Wisconsin or in Minnesota to try and remain competitive. That would push a lot of farmers off their traditional land,' he said. Dairy Farmers of Canada declined Global's request for comment. 1:51 U.S. may be looking to remove non-tariff barriers, report shows However, Trump and the Republicans have their own political calculus in pushing Canada on supply management, he said. 'In the midterm elections, which are next year, maintaining Wisconsin is going to be very important for the Republicans if they want to maintain control of the House (of Representatives). If you vocally support farmers, this is one way to maybe keep that base solidified,' he said. One prominent Canadian voice who is opposed to the present system of supply management is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said recently that she was considering 'creating our own Alberta version of supply and management, maybe as a pathway to a market system.' Story continues below advertisement 'We do not get our share of quota, I think we have 12 per cent of the population and we only get seven per cent of the quota,' she told reporters last week. One consequence of supply management is that Canadians end up paying more for dairy products, Anders said. 'There's plenty of research that says or that has documented that an average Canadian household pays several hundred dollars more in food in dairy product cost on an annual basis just because of supply management,' he said. However, the same system has also been credited with helping Canadian consumers avoid the price shocks seen by U.S. consumers over the past year, as egg prices south of the border soared. Trump's criticisms aren't historically abnormal for U.S. presidents, either. 'Biden and Obama both had objections to it and voiced it,' Lander said. 'The more I say I dislike it, and the more you insist you're not going to remove it, then the more that I can say I want my way on these other things. It could be that he (Trump) just sees it as a tactic, where the Democratic presidents who had opposed it in the past merely just saw it as an annoyance.' — with files from Global's Sean Boynton and Touria Izri
