In a time of cross-border tension, the Buffalo Bills have won fans by included "O Canada" in the pre-game ceremony at their brand new Highmark Stadium on Sept. 17 even though there were no Canadian fans playing.
Barenaked Ladies stood on guard for Canada in Buffalo last night (Sept. 17).
The platinum-selling Toronto pop-rock veterans were invited to sing the national anthem at the start of an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions. It wasn't just another game, but rather the highly-anticipated first ever regular-season game at the brand-new $2.2 billion Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Buffalo.
It's rare for the Canadian anthem to be played at NFL games, as the league does not have any Canadian teams. Many of Buffalo's home fans, though, come from across the border between New York and Ontario.
advertisement
Interestingly, the Canadian anthem is regularly played at home games of Buffalo's NHL hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres. Both the Bills and Sabres have the same owner, the Pegula family. Buffalo is the only U.S.-based NHL team that plays both national anthems before home games against both American and Canadian teams.
Under former owner Ralph Wilson, the Bills held annual Canadian fan appreciation games in Orchard Park that included both the Canadian and American national anthems, but last night was the first time for this under the Pegulas' ownership.
Giving the BNL rendition of ''O Canada'' extra resonance was the fact that it came as the trade war and tension between Canada and the U.S. continues to escalate.
Despite any perceived tension, the anthem was received warmly by the home fans in Buffalo. The crowd cheered and sang along, with no anti-Canadian booing audible, though some football fans online were critical of the band's performance itself. The four group members harmonized and included a line in French while a very large Canadian flag was on display.
Barenaked Ladies have a history with the Buffalo Bills and anthems, as they had performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Bills-Jets game at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Dec. 3, 2009.
advertisement
In a highly-publicized incident back in April, fans at KeyBank Center in Buffalo sang ''O Canada'' after a microphone failed before the Sabres' playoff game against the Boston Bruins.
At last night's game, actress and singer Auliʻi Cravalho (Moana) performed the American anthem, while the chart-topping OneRepublic entertained the crowd at halftime.
Ontario artist Briony Douglas has collaborated with the Bills on projects and she told theNiagara Falls Reviewthat ''I think (the Canadian anthem being sung) is awesome and so special, I’m probably going to tear up a bit. As a Canadian that loves the NFL and the Bills, it’s a pretty awesome moment, feeling seen. It’s a monumental moment for Canadians.”
The invitation to BNL from the Bills organization was possibly not totally altruistic, as the Rochester Democrat & Chronicleattributes it to an attempt to grow the fanbase in Canada. Bills chief operating officer Pete Guelli said in 2025 that Canadian residents accounted for approximately 10% to 15% of the team's season-ticket members, while Buffalo joined the NFL's Global Markets Program for Canada in 2025 and partnered with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto FC and CFL's Toronto Argonauts. The Bills also expanded their radio network into Canada prior to this season, adding affiliates in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.
advertisement
One comparatively recent example of a version of ''O Canada'' sparking controversy came in Feb. 2025 when Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk intentionally changed the lyrics as a response to Donald Trump's comments about annexing Canada as a 51st state before a 4 Nationals Face-Off hockey game between the two countries. Her example was later followed by Rufus Wainwright in Oct. 2025in Oct. 2025, at game 5 of the baseball World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, he retained Kreviazuk's lyric change to "true patriot love that only us command."
advertisement
Two days before Wainwright’s performance, Toronto-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter JP Saxe performed the Canadian national anthem at Dodger Stadium during Game 3. He swapped out the "Our home and native land" line for "Our home on native land," following in the footsteps of Jully Black at the NBA All-Star Game in 2023.
