BRUCE DICKINSON: IRON MAIDEN 'Crossed The Lake Of Ontario' To Get To Toronto Concert

During IRON MAIDEN's August 29 concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, singer Bruce Dickinson pointedly referred to Lake Ontario by that name despite U.S. president Donald Trump signing an executive order directing for it to be renamed Lake America.

In a short video clip shared by SiriusXM Canada, Bruce addressed the audience at Scotiabank Arena, which marked the first show of MAIDEN's 2026 North American leg of the "Run For Your Lives" tour. He said: "Hello, Canada. Oh my God. It's been traumatic. We got here. We crossed the Lake Of Ontario."

Earlier this week, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said Lake Ontario, which borders the Canadian ‌province ⁠of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. will continue to be called by that name despite Trump's executive order.

"The name is more than 400 years old, pre-dating both the Confederation Of Canada and the Declaration Of Independence of the United States of America," Carney said on Thursday. "We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always," he added.

Trump's executive order, issued amid a trade war between the U.S. and Canada, applies to U.S. federal references of the lake and does not determine how Canada — or others — refer to the body of water.

Trump's executive order said the new name honors "the American history of the Great Lakes."

The executive order was part of an escalating trade feud with Canada that has prompted the two countries to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars in goods.

U.S. states are not bound by the order and can continue using "Lake Ontario" on state maps, highway signs and tourism materials.

Rochester, New York city council unanimously signed a proclamation Friday affirming the city will continue to use the lake's longstanding Lake Ontario name.

New York governor Kathy Hochul said her state would not be calling the body of water Lake America. In a video posted to her YouTube channel, Hochul said renaming the lake was "deflecting from the real needs of Americans."

Although Canada and U.S. have been strong allies in the past, the relationship between the two countries quickly declined under the Trump administration, with Washington announcing 50% tariffs on Canadian goods worth billions of dollars after trade talks broke down. Carney vowed to match the tariffs "dollar for dollar" and announced similar up to 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. imports earlier this week.