Blue Rodeo, JoJo & Iron Maiden Show Speak Out Against Donald Trump's Lake Ontario Renaming at Toronto Concerts

In the wake of Trump’s threats to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, artists used their platforms this weekend in Toronto to speak against it.

During Blue Rodeo’s show at Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre — which sits on Lake Ontario’s waterfront — the group had a special request for the audience. Before playing the Toronto band’s 1993 hit "Hasn't Hit Me Yet," which features a lyric about the Great Lake, the co-frontman Greg Keelor addressed the crowd.

"At the end of this song, there's a mention of a lake. It's a lake right behind us right there," he said, referring to the lyric: “Watching the snow fall on this cold December night / And out in the middle of Lake Ontario.”

Keelor acknowledged that the lake's name has become “a little controversial” since Trump's executive order to rename it to Lake America. “I would just like you to sing tonight with full authority and ownership, and we'll sing this one for the shining waters that have been there long before any of us were ever here.”

While screens throughout the venue showed a map of the lake with its original name, the audience happily joined in on a “Lake Ontario” chant, which band member Jim Cuddy called “chilling” afterwards. “We are who we are, right? F—k them,” he said.

Blue Rodeo doubled down on their love for their home country, saying: “We’re proud Canadians, folks!” on Instagram, sharing their performance of “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” in Toronto.

At the nearby Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), JoJo took the stage at Bell SOUNDSTAGE at the Bandshell joining the roster of high-profile artists performing at the exhibition’s inaugural year in its partnership with NXNE.

“It is just so beautiful to fly in and see the beautiful Lake Ontario. What a beautiful lake, ” said the Y2K-era pop breakout, pausing for the crowd to cheer loudly. “If I wasn’t from Massachusetts, I wish to be from Toronto. I love Canada,” she continued.

While JoJo is known for early 2000s bops like “Too Little Too Late” and “Leave (Get Out),” the singer’s love for the Great White North was palpable as she performed a cover of Drake’s No. 1 hit “One Dance.”

JoJo performed one day after the Billboard Canada-presented show by EDM heavyweights Zeds Dead, who played what is likely the biggest electronic concert in the Ex's long history. Check out highlights from the epic show below.

JoJo also joined the likes of Billboard Canada Women In Music 2025 honourees Lights and Charlotte Day Wilson, Lupe Fiasco, Shaggy, Raf-Saperra, Sean Paul, Dallas Smith and Hardy — a taste of the big names headlining the Ex this year.

Over at Scotiabank Arena, heavy metal greats Iron Maiden packed a punch with their message, celebrating the kickoff show on their 50th anniversary tour.

“Hello Canada,” declared frontman Bruce Dickinson. “Oh my god, it’s been traumatic. We got here — we crossed Lake of Ontario,” which, of course, elicited cheers from the crowd.

In Dickinson’s speech, he continued to shout out bodies of water across the globe. “Later this year, we’ll be crossing the Gulf of Mexico,” commenting on the “ridiculous state of the world.”

It was the first of two sold-out nights at the Toronto arena, marking the band’s first time performing in Canada in nearly two years. During the Aug. 29 show, they performed their 1988 track “Infinite Dreams,” playing it for the first time in Canada since its release.