When the lyrics of Blue Rodeo’s Hasn’t Hit Me Yet reverberated over the shore of Lake Ontario Saturday, they morphed into a rallying cry for Canadians following U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to change the lake’s name to “Lake America.”
Thousands of fans erupted into song at the band’s show at RBC Amphitheatre in downtown Toronto that night, right along the lake. Thunderous applause followed the 1993 classic’s “Out in the middle of Lake Ontario” line, lasting for minutes in videos that have been widely shared online.
“That moment was glorious,” frontman Jim Cuddy told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Tuesday.
It’s no secret why Lake Ontario has been getting a lot of attention lately.
Just days before, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” after failing to reach a trade agreement with Canada.
Cuddy, frontman for Blue Rodeo, has publicly encouraged Canadian solidarity in response to the trade war with the U.S. In 2025, he performed at the “Elbows Up, Canada!” event in Toronto.
When Blue Rodeo reached the song, singer Greg Keelor asked the roughly 16,000 people in attendance to sing “Lake Ontario” with “full authority and ownership,” with the lake itself stretching out behind the waterfront venue.
They roared the line out.
“It was just very moving,” Cuddy said.
Cuddy called the argument over Lake Ontario’s name “bewildering.” He said many Canadians are feeling frustrated by the tension and trade war between Canada and the U.S.
“People really need some outlet,” he said. “We were happy to be able to lend our song to give people a voice.”
When asked if Blue Rodeo would consider performing in the U.S. nowadays, Cuddy said the band is not interested and said he thinks it’s a time to “stick with your team.”
“I don’t think all artists have to stand up and wave a flag,” he said. “I just think they have to reflect how they feel and this is how we feel.”
On Saturday, Google announced that Google Maps users in the U.S. will see “Lake America”: instead of Lake Ontario. Trump has also asked Apple to change the name of the Lake on its maps.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have both spoken out rejecting the name change.
In a social media post Carney said the lake is over 400 years old and said its name comes from the Wendat word “Ontari’io,” meaning “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.” He said it’s called Lake Ontario “then, now and always.”
Ford unveiled a new Lake Ontario sign in Hamilton on Sunday, which reads “Lake Ontario Now and Always.”
“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you that the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario,” he said.
