Singer Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyrics of the Canadian national anthem on Thursday night in a mark of protest against President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to make the country the 51st US state.
In her pregame performance in front of a Boston crowd at the 4 Nations Face-Off championship ice hockey match between the US and Canada, Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyrics of the line “in all of us command” in the anthem “O Canada” to “that only us command”.
Chantal Kreviazuk later discussed in detail why she decided to change the lyrics. She told the Associated Press that it was because she believed in “democracy, and a sovereign nation should not have to be defending itself against tyranny and fascism.”
She said that she grew up listening to music that spoke to the heart and the moment. It has shaped her as a songwriter and “really as a human being”.
“I don’t think it would be authentic to me to be given a world stage and not express myself and be true to myself,” she was quoted Kreviazuk as saying.
The singer later posted photographs of herself from the event on Instagram, showing how she had written the phrase “that only us command” using a mascara on her left hand.
In a lengthy note, Kreviazuk shared that she did not plan it at all. During soundcheck, I sang the wrong words,’ in all thy sons command,’ out of habit. When I analysed the new line, I thought, wow—this could mean something so pertinent to our country at this moment with a change in just two words, three syllables,” she wrote.
She noted that it really felt like the right thing to do. Concluding her post, Kreviazuk wrote, “Canada, not unlike Ukraine, is a sovereign nation. Period. We have a culture individual to others. We are united in our values. We care. We’re kind. We are strong.”
The National Hockey League has declined to comment on the incident. Canada went on to win 3-2 in overtime and capture the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off championship.
Soon after the Canadian ice hockey team defeated the US, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a jibe at Donald Trump on X (formerly Twitter.
“You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game,” he wrote.
Just before the game, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform once again that he hoped Canada “will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
“…we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” Trump said.
Relations between the two North American neighbours have soured in the last few months after Trump’s repeated attacks on Trudeau and threats to impose tariffs on Canada.
Fans booed when the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, during last week’s ice hockey game between the US and Canada in Montreal.