An iconic Canadian rock band is taking a stand against President Donald Trump’s attempt to rebrand Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”
During Blue Rodeo’s performance Saturday at the RBC Amphitheater — which sits directly on Lake Ontario’s waterfront in Toronto — lead singer Greg Keelor took a moment to speak to the crowd before playing the band’s 1993 hit “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” which features a lyric about the massive lake on the U.S.-Canada border.
“At the end of this song, there’s a mention of a lake. It’s a lake right behind us right there,” Keelor told the screaming audience, according to a YouTube livestream of the performance.
He went on to say that the lake’s name has “become a little controversial,” referring to Trump’s recent executive order to rename the Great Lake amid the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S.
“I would just like you to sing tonight with full authority and ownership,” Keelor told the crowd. “And we’ll sing this one for the shining waters that have been there long before any of us were ever here.”
open image in galleryFans obliged, and footage of the moment later shared on social media showed thousands of Canadians gleefully shouting “Lake Ontario” at the end of the song, while onstage screens behind the band showed a map of the area with the lake’s original name.
After the song, band member Jim Cuddy told the audience: “That was chilling, folks. We are who we are, right? F*** them.”
The White House did not return The Independent’s request for comment.
Blue Rodeo, formed by Keelor and Cuddy in 1984, is one of Canada’s most beloved bands, with 12 Juno Award wins and a place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The group routinely packs out arenas on their successful tours, where crowds gather to hear hits like “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” “Try” and “Lost Together.”
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The band is not the only Canadian staple to push back on Trump’s name change after he announced it last week, prompting Google Maps to change the lake’s name on its app.
On Saturday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a giant billboard along the Canadian shore that bears the message: “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
“You may have heard that President Trump is trying to rename this lake, all because he doesn’t like Ontario and Canada standing up for ourselves,” Ford said. “But let’s be serious. Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario, and long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.”
Trump’s executive order is the latest in the president’s growing resentment for Canada after months of a bitter trade war, personal attacks on Canadian leaders and threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.