Buffalo sits on the American shore of a lake that Donald Trump, by executive order signed on August 27, wants federal maps to call “Lake America”. Twelve days later, the city’s NFL team answered him.
The Bills announced on September 9 that “O Canada” will be sung alongside “The Star-Spangled Banner” before every home game at their new Highmark Stadium this season. The first is the home opener on Thursday, September 17 against the Detroit Lions, with Canadian band Barenaked Ladies performing the Canadian anthem and Moana star Auliʻi Cravalho performing the American one.
It is a rare political statement by an NFL franchise pointed at a sitting president, and one that reads differently in Orchard Park than it would almost anywhere else in the league.
8,000 season tickets across the border
The Bills’ fan base is unusual. As of 2025, Canadian supporters held an estimated 8,000 Bills season tickets, and 18% of personal seat license deposits at the newly built Highmark Stadium came from north of the border, according to reporting on the announcement. That share is why the Bills, more than any other team, had a commercial reason to answer the president as well as a diplomatic one.
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Carney rejected the renaming
Trump signed the Lake America order at a White House news conference and said the change was effective immediately. Asked what he wanted Canada to take from the move, he criticized the country’s trade posture with the United States.
“Well, they haven’t treated us well. The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people,” Trump said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the renaming on social media.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario, then, now and always,” Carney posted.
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The order binds only US federal agencies. It cannot force Canada or the Canadian province of Ontario to follow, and Ottawa has continued to use “Lake Ontario”.
Canadian fans divided on the gesture
Reactions to the Bills’ plan split sharply. Writing for OutKick, Jon Root called the decision “Incredibly idiotic,” arguing there was “ZERO reason” to play the Canadian anthem when the visiting team is American. On the Jim Rome show, Brian Webber described it as an excellent gesture toward the team’s Canadian supporters, while ESPN’s Jon Buccigross posted a two-word verdict: “Very cool.”
Canadian fans were divided too. One Canadian season-ticket holder posted a message that has since circulated widely among the Bills Mafia.
“As a Canadian season ticket holder I appreciate this. Might be unnecessary but given the stupidity happening between our respective national governments [it’s] a sign of goodwill,” the fan wrote.
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Another Canadian pushed back, writing that the anthem should not be played when the opponent is not a Canadian team.
Kickoff for the Highmark opener against the Detroit Lions is on Thursday, September 17.
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