Canadian national anthem singer Chantal Kreviazuk revealed her plans to change the song’s lyrics and take a jab at President Donald Trump beforehand, her social media shows.
Amid Trump’s suggestions that the United States should annex Canada as a 51st state, Kreviazuk sang the words ‘that only us command’ – rather than ‘in all of us command’ – essentially telling the President to back off of the USA’s Northern neigbors.
And before her performance of ‘O Canada’ before the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey final in Boston, Kreviazuk posted a picture of the revised lyrics written on her hand on her Instagram story.
She also included the caption: ‘I am sorry if my performance of our national anthem rubbed you the wrong way. if i was a little off pitch or if it wasn’t perfect in its tone. i am sorry if i messed up the french line i inserted to bring some balance to our nation’s history without losing those words “glorious and free” in english… i am sorry if you think that we’d be better off annexed.
‘Here is the thing. art to me is an expression of our truth. and in this very peculiar and potentially consequential moment i truly believe that we must stand up, use our voices and try to protect ourselves… no – we should express our outrage in the face of any abuses of power. i was raised in part by music that was inspired by brave voices committed to peaceful conflict resolution.
‘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.’
Canadian national anthem singer Chantal Kreviazuk revealed her plans to change the song’s lyrics in a dig at Donald Trump
Kreviazuk changed the lyrics to swipe at Trump amid Canada’s feud with the US president
Provocative rhetoric from President Trump has strained the relationship between the countries
The singer also posted a selfie video of herself before going out to perform, saying it was an ‘honor’ to be singing ‘O Canada.’
A representative for the singer confirmed to the CBC that the switch was done on purpose in response to Trump.
Trump’s recent comments and actions – which have included threatening tariffs of an additional 25 percent on Canada – have raised tensions during this hockey tournament.
The Star-Spangled Banner was loudly booed when performed in Montreal last weekend, while the Americans returned the favor during ‘O Canada’ in Boston on Thursday.
Many Canadian fans also blasted the performance as they accused the singer of forgetting the lyrics, not realizing that she had seemingly changed the words on purpose.
She was also accused of being out of tune by some viewers.
Trump recently prodded Canada by calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ‘governor,’ and called the USA team to offer his best wishes ahead of the game.
‘I just want to wish you a lot of luck. You really are a skilled group of people,’ he said. ‘It’s an honor to talk to you… We love you guys. We’ll be watching tonight. Bring it home.
Kreviazuk sang the words ‘that only us command’ – rather than ‘in all of us command’
The Canadians ultimately got the best of the Americans during the 4 Nations Face Off final
Trump signed an executive order on February 1 to implement a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
The measure has yet to kick in but would come into effect on March 4.
Ultimately, after losing 3-1 in round robin play last weekend, Canada got the last laugh on Thursday.
The Canadians won 3-2 in a sudden death overtime to win the first iteration of the competition.