Bryan Adams just released the most political single of his career for Canada Day

Bryan Adams performs at the final Summer Sounds FM concert series at Shell Place in Fort McMurray, Alta., in 2019.

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Bryan Adams has built a career belting out classics like Cuts Like a Knife, Summer of 69 and So Happy It Hurts. But the U.K.-based, North Vancouver-bred rock star has rarely strayed into political tunes. Until now.

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To celebrate Canada Day 2026, the Grammy and Juno-winning singer released a new pro-Canada single titled 51st State.

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The chorus directly addresses the Americans and Canadians who support annexing this country, with a clear message that proud Canadians can sing along to.

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Let me give it to you straight
When you’re talking about my home
You better show some respect
‘Cuz up here we take care of our own
So let me give you some advice, mister
You might have too much on your plate
Go n’ load us up with tariffs
But we’ll never be the 51st State

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The track has all the big hooks and driving beat Adams’ fans have come to love over the artist’s decades-long career. It’s the type of tune you can expect to hear blasting out at hockey rinks from coast to coast to coast.

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“I wanted to write something about Canada because Canada is home,” said Adams. “There is more that binds us than divides us. This is a tribute to the pride and spirit of my fellow Canadians — the rest is just noise.”

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Clocking in at 2:17, 51st State is a tribute to the people, communities and culture of Canada and a gentle rebuke to the persistent eponymous comments first floated by American president Donald Trump in 2024. Since then, the position has been revisited repeatedly by the Republican president, along with discussions of also annexing Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, as well as other countries.

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President Trump posted “51st State!” on June 2 on his social media account, along with a Bloomberg News article discussing the Canadian economy dipping into a technical recession. The American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, reposted the comment.

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U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, reposted a June 2, Donald Trump post about Canada becoming the 51st State.

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Such ongoing insults to Canadian sovereignty likely inspired this lyric in Adams’ single:

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But the 49th parallel

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Has become a line drawn in the sand

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Adams is currently on tour in support of his latest album, Roll With The Punches. The record, recorded in part in Adams’ own studio The Warehouse in Vancouver, is his first release under his own label.

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He will be touring Canada from August to September, winding down the cross-Canada tour on Sept. 15 at Rogers Forum in Abbotsford. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.ca.

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Expect 51st State to bring the house down (and the elbows up) in concert all across the country.

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