Bryan Adams releases 'Lake Ontario' song criticizing Trump's Lake America renaming

The new song

Bryan Adams released a new song called 'Lake Ontario' on Wednesday, 28 October. The track criticises the executive order Donald Trump signed on 27 August, which directs US federal agencies to call the lake 'Lake America' on maps, in documents and in official communications. The order does not require Canada to accept the new name. Adams, who is 66, published a statement on his official website saying the lake has outlasted empires, regimes and kings. The song is addressed to people on both shores and argues that the current political situation will pass while the lake keeps its historical name. The lake divides the United States and Canada, and the renaming adds to a dispute that has included tariffs and repeated remarks about Canada becoming the '51st state'.

What the lyrics target

Adams does not name Trump in the lyrics, but the song links the renaming to the situation in Iran and to the Epstein files. Those references suggest that the naming dispute is meant to divert attention from other controversies, according to the reporting on the track. One verse reads as follows.

“But things weren't going his way in Iran / So like a baby tossing the toys from the pram.”

The lyrics also recall the lake's geological formation, the presence of Indigenous peoples and European exploration. Adams argues that the identity of the lake cannot be determined by a presidential decision. The song says the Iroquois once called the lake the 'lake of shining waters'.

Concerts and fan reaction

The protest has also surfaced at live shows. Blue Rodeo's 1993 song 'Hasn't Hit Me Yet' mentions Lake Ontario, and during a concert in Toronto on 29 August thousands of spectators sang along to that passage. Band leader Greg Keelor said the lake, once taken for granted, had become a line in the sand. The fan response turned the song into a viral moment. Blue Rodeo, JoJo and Iron Maiden each took a position against the renaming during their Toronto concerts.

Earlier songs and the wider dispute

Adams had already answered Trump's remarks with '51st State', released on 1 July, Canada Day. That song rejects Canadian integration into the United States and criticises the tariffs Washington has imposed. Trump had repeatedly called for Canada to become the 51st US state. In an interview with the German magazine Stern, Adams welcomed closer ties between Canada and the European Union. The new track extends a series of songs that place Canadian sovereignty at the centre of his public message.

Timeline of the dispute

The sequence runs from the July single to the October release, with Trump's order and the Toronto concert falling in late August. The new song arrives two months after the executive order.

The order itself does not require Canada to accept the name, so the change currently applies to US federal usage.