Singer’s subtle anthem tweak echoes growing artistic pushback against Trump’s comments on Canada’s sovereignty.
Rufus Wainwright turned a routine national anthem performance into a subtle act of political resistance during the October 29 World Series, where the Toronto Blue Jays faced the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The celebrated Montreal-born singer altered a key lyric in “O Canada,” swapping the official line “in all of us command” for “that only us command.” The shift was small, but its symbolism was unmistakable—especially delivered in both English and French on one of the year’s largest sports stages.
The lyric change wasn’t spontaneous. It echoed a similar protest earlier in the year by Canadian artist Chantal Kreviazuk, who used the same wording during her performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey final in February. In both cases, the altered lyric served as a quiet rebuke of Donald Trump’s recent comments about Canada, which have drawn widespread criticism across the country.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada could avoid higher taxes by joining the United States as its 51st state, remarks many Canadians view as undermining the nation’s independence and identity. Wainwright’s decision to adjust the wording of the anthem was widely interpreted as a pushback against those comments and a reaffirmation of Canadian sovereignty.
This is not Wainwright’s first public clash with Trump. The musician has long been vocal about his disapproval of the president.
Back in 2020, Wainwright described the Trump administration as an era defined by “ineptitude and pure evil,” saying he believed Trump showed little empathy or regard for humanity. More recently, he expressed outrage in October 2024 when his rendition of “Hallelujah” was played at a Trump rally.
At the time, Wainwright said he was “mortified,” emphasizing that the song symbolizes “peace, love and acceptance of the truth,” values he felt were incompatible with the rally’s message.
Wainwright wasn’t the only artist to use “O Canada” as a vehicle for commentary during the World Series. On October 27, Grammy-nominated musician JP Saxe made his own quiet statement by singing “our home on native land” instead of the traditional “our home and native land.”
The alteration mirrored a version performed by R&B singer Jully Black in 2023, part of an ongoing movement to recognize Indigenous history and land rights more explicitly in the national anthem.
As Wainwright prepares for the November 21 release of his next project, I’m a Stranger Here Myself – Wainwright Does Weill, the singer continues to use his platform to merge art with activism—sometimes through powerful speeches, and sometimes through just a few carefully chosen words.
