TIFF Cheers Lake Ontario as U.S.-Canada Tensions Simmer
The loudest cheer at the Toronto International Film Festival so far was not for a movie star. It was for a lake.
TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey opened the 51st festival in Toronto with a deliberate welcome. "Welcome to TIFF and welcome to the beautiful shore of — say it with me — Lake Ontario," he told the opening-night crowd before the premiere of "Being Heumann," according to ABC News.
The line landed because the lake's name has become a political flashpoint. Weeks before the festival, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America" amid an escalating trade fight with Canada.
Google and Apple changed their maps for U.S. users to read "Lake America" after the order. The Associated Press said it will continue using the name Lake Ontario.
The fight goes well beyond maps. The United States imposed 50% tariffs — taxes charged on imported goods — on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada answered with retaliatory tariffs on about the same value of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment. On Sunday, Trump called Canada the "worst country to deal with."
And still, the mood inside the festival has stayed warm. TIFF, North America's largest film event, is underway in Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario. It draws its largest influx of festivalgoers and industry visitors from the United States, and the atmosphere on the ground has remained convivial despite rising tension between the two governments.
Filmmakers have joined in on the joke. Director Peter Farrelly told his audience he was happy to be back on the shores of Lake Ontario as he introduced "I Play Rocky," his drama centered on Sylvester Stallone.
What makes this stand out is how quickly a place name turned into an applause line. It is a small choice of words. It gets a laugh. It also reminds a largely American room exactly where they are.
Canadian stories are sharing the spotlight too. "The Stunt Driver," from director Michael Dowse and starring Jay Baruchel as 1970s Canadian stuntman Ken Carter, made its world premiere at the festival.
