NFL’s Buffalo Bills to present Canadian and US anthems at season opener

By Steve Gorman

Sept 9 (Reuters) – Amid the increasingly heated U.S.-Canadian trade war, the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League have weighed in with an apparent goodwill gesture to mark the season opening of their new home stadium near the border of New York and Ontario.

The team announced on their official X account that the NFL franchise would present both the American and Canadian national anthems during pre-game ceremonies next Thursday for the Bills’ home opener at Highmark Stadium against the Detroit Lions.

The dual anthem marks an unusual move for an NFL team at a time when a bitter trade war has strained U.S.-Canadian relations. U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on goods from Canada and signed executive orders renaming Canadian border landmarks, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed counter-tariffs and urged a shift away from U.S. trade dependence. 

The Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies, best known for their 1998 hit “One Week,” are slated to perform “O Canada,” the Bills announced. 

The Hawaiian-born actress-singer Auli’i Cravalho, who was the voice of the title character in the Disney animated “Moana” films, will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The team noted that the dual anthem performance would be an historical first for Highmark Stadium, which opened earlier this year and will host its debut NFL game next week as the new home field of the Bills. 

The Buffalo NFL franchise, which held a number of its games in Toronto from 2008 to 2013 to expand its Canadian fan base, did not explain the decision to perform both the U.S. and Canadian national anthems, or whether it would become a regular tradition.

Team representatives did not respond to queries from Reuters asking whether the gesture was meant to show solidarity with Canada or ease tensions in the midst of the escalating trade feud.

Trump, who imposed a new round of tariffs on goods from Canada last month, recently signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario – one of two Great Lakes situated near Buffalo along the U.S.-Canada border – as Lake America. 

Trump also shared a map of North America draped in the U.S. flag, including Canada and Mexico, and an AI-generated image reviving a running jab at Carney, calling him “Governor,” a reference to Trump’s repeated taunt that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.  

Representatives for the Barenaked Ladies also did not reply to inquiries from Reuters.

Buffalo’s National Hockey League franchise, the Sabres, have presented both countries’ national anthems in the past.

Online fan reaction to the Bills’ announcement was mixed, some of it hostile.

“Not okay,” wrote one X user. “This is an AMERICAN sport played in AMERICA. What does Canada have to do with it.”  

Another was more upbeat. “Love this. The Sabres have done this for years. Buffalo and Ontario have always shared a special bond. We drink Labatt, cross the Peace Bridge frequently, and see Canadians as neighbors.”   

(By Steve Gorman; editing by Lincoln Feast.)