The Grammy-nominated singer who performed “O Canada” ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game deliberately changed the lyrics to the Canadian national anthem as a direct shot at President Donald Trump’s previous statements toward America’s northern neighbor.
A representative for Chantal Kreviazuk confirmed to CBC that the singer had purposefully changed the lyrics “in all of us command” to “that only us command.”
The rep also indicated that it was a response to the growing political tension between the United States and Canada and, in particular, Trump’s continuing quips that the U.S. would make Canada the 51st state.
Kreviazuk posted several images on her Instagram story before she went out to perform, including a video of herself in her dressing room where she called singing the anthem, “what an honor.”
Another post on her Instagram was a photo of the changed lyrics written on her hand.
Booing of the national anthems of the United States and Canada has become a large narrative during the mid-season tournament that was intended the juices flowing for the NHL’s return to the Winter Olympics in 2026.
A more political narrative has taken shape as the tournament has progressed.
Canadian hockey fans began booing the American national anthem at Bell Centre in Montreal when Team USA played there on Saturday.
When the 4 Nations Face-Off moved to Boston, American fans returned the favor by booing the Canadian anthem
It was booed when Kreviazuk performed on Thursday night at TD Garden.
The animosity stems from threats of increased tariffs on Canada by Trump.
While Trump did not attend the championship game on Thursday, he did call the American team earlier in the day and in a post on Truth Social, the president said he would be cheering them on from afar.
The social media post also came with continued digs at Canada and the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State,” Trump posted.
“I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend. But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!”
