Bryan Adams takes aim at Lake Ontario name change in new song
Canadian rocker's latest single follows a recent run of songs focused on Canada
Bryan Adams turns the dispute over Lake Ontario's name into a political jab in his new single, accusing an unnamed leader of using the issue to distract from other controversies.
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Adams → take → controversies
Released Wednesday, Lake Ontario moves from the lake's geological and Indigenous history to pointed references to Iran and the Epstein files, before returning to the refrain that the lake will keep its name.
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lake → release → name
Adams never names Trump directly, instead describing "one dude" who breaks a period of calm among people living on the lake's shores.
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who → name → shores
He dismisses the idea of changing its name as a "real dog and pony show" and suggests the renaming debate is a distraction.
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debate → dismiss → show
The song's message has found an echo in another Canadian rock classic.
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message → find → classic
At a Toronto show on Aug. 29, Blue Rodeo invited the crowd to sing the Lake Ontario line from its 1993 song Hasn't Hit Me Yet.
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Has → invite → Me
Thousands joined in, turning the lyric into a moment of Canadian solidarity amid the name-change dispute.
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Thousands → join → dispute
'That moment was glorious': How a Blue Rodeo hit became a rallying cry for Lake Ontario's name
Bryan Adams takes aim at Trump with protest song 51st State
Adams takes aim at the 51st state idea
The release adds to a recent run of songs in which Adams has taken a more overtly patriotic turn.
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Adams → become → turn
On Canada Day, he put out 51st State, a response to Trump's repeated suggestions that Canada should become part of the United States.
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Canada → put → States
The song's title and lyrics reject that idea, placing national identity and Canadian sovereignty at the centre of the track.
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title → reject → track
The powerful rock anthem never mentions Trump by name either, but it's abundantly clear who the message is for.
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message → mention → who
"Let me give you some advice, mister — you might have too much on your plate," rasps Adams in the chorus of the rough-and-tumble track.
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Adams → let → track
"Go'n load us up with tariffs, but we'll never be the 51st state."
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we → load → tariffs
Lake Ontario makes its case less like a rallying cry than a wry argument.
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case → make → argument
It opens with references to the lake's geological history, Indigenous care and the lake's history of European exploration and industrial use.
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It → open → exploration
The lyrics call it the "lake of shining waters" and say the name is not "an executive order."
In a statement on his website, Adams said, "Empires and regimes, dictators and kings, they all come and go.
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they → call → website
He described the song as being for people on both sides of the lake who believe "the current madness will pass."
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madness → describe → lake
Lake Ontario is a bonus track on the digital edition of Adams's coming album, How's It Goin', which comes out Nov. 6.
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which → come → album
The album also includes 51st State, The Ballad of Terry Fox, The Battle of Lundy's Lane and Diesel and Dirt.
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album → include → Lane
On Instagram, Bryan Adams posted the album cover for How's it Goin' with the list of tracks, including The Ballad of Terry Fox, 51st State and his new single, Lake Ontario.
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it → post → Fox
A musical love letter to Canada
Adams has described the album as a musical love letter to Canada.
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Adams → describe → Canada
Its songs draw on Canadian people, places and history, with influences the release describes as Celtic folk and rock.
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release → draw → folk
The track list suggests a mix of historical subjects and contemporary politics, from Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope to the current dispute over the lake's name.
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list → suggest → name
Born in Kingston, Ont., and raised primarily in Ottawa, Adams has never shied away from speaking his mind.
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Adams → bear → mind
He has been calling for an end to Canadian content rules ever since his 1991 hit (Everything I Do) I Do it for You was deemed by regulators to be not Canadian enough because he collaborated with non-Canadians.
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he → call → Canadians
As recently as last year, he called the system "archaic" and "really stupid," arguing it only serves to prop up mediocre homegrown music.
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it → call → music
With Lake Ontario, Adams brings his longstanding focus on Canadian identity into the current political debate.
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Adams → bring → debate
The song's central message is simple: political figures and disputes may come and go, but the lake, he argues, should remain Lake Ontario.
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he → come → ?
The Aporia
