Fans of Blue Rodeo joined the chorus of Canadians pushing back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to rebrand Lake Ontario as “Lake America”.
The crowd went wild when singers Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor sang the line, “Out in the middle of Lake Ontario” during the song “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” toward the end of the band’s concert at the RBC Amphitheatre on Saturday night.
The band also projected a large map of Lake Ontario behind them during the show.
Trump signed an executive order Thursday to rename the body of water following a bitter feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on the president’s move, saying on social media “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”
Several Canadian brands, from ice cream to clothing companies, also took up the charge against “Lake America.”
The president made the threat to rename one of the great lakes after he exchanged public insults with Ford, who called the president a bully and told him to “kiss my ass.” Trump replied by saying Ford was the “less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford,” the former Toronto mayor and the premier’s late brother.
The feud stemmed from Canada suspending trade talks shortly before Trump’s deadline to impose new 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion in Canadian goods. Trump lashed out at Canada after the talks broke off, leading to Ford’s initial comments about the president.
Ford later toned down his language and called for the two sides to reach a deal. On Saturday, he unveiled a large sign near Stoney Creek, Ont., reading, “Lake Ontario Now and Always.”
Blue Rodeo formed in Toronto in 1984.
