Buffalo loves Canada — and the Sabres prove it: ‘O Canada, we meant every word’

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“The characteristics differed from interview to interview, however it was interesting to note that while most of the Buffalo Sabres fans agreed their team represented Fort Erie well, the Toronto Maple Leafs fans rejected the idea of their team being a good representation of their community,” Sidani wrote. “In fact, some Maple Leafs fans went as far as to say that the Buffalo Sabres were a better representation of Fort Erie when considering the economic state of the city and town.”

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Fort Erie, Ont., from across the Niagara River. Photo by Oleg Bersenev/Unsplash

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In 2011, then managing partner Larry Quinn told the New York Times, “there’s no question” that Buffalo itself has a Canadian feel and that part of their marketing strategy in Southern Ontario “is to pretend there isn’t a border.”

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The organization has consistently made efforts to stay connected to its dedicated Canadian fanbase over its 56 years, starting with founding brothers Seymour and Nortrup Knox, who elected to use the Canadian spelling of Sabre (not Saber) when Toronto filmmaker Harry Cole won a 1969 naming contest for the expansion club.

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In 2013, the Sabres signed a broadcasting deal with Bell to make 50 games per season available to viewers in Southern Ontario at no extra cost.

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“Many people don’t think of the Southern Ontario region as being ‘Sabres Territory’ because it’s in a different country,” then team president Ted Black said. “But, in reality, some of our most passionate fans come from right over the Peace Bridge. They’ve been crossing the border to come to games at the arena for years, and now they’ll be able to watch a majority of Sabres games from the comfort of their homes.”

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That fall, according to Niagara This Week reported, the team conducted a two-day “Invade Canada” campaign by visiting four locations to generate buzz for the 2013 campaign.

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In 2023, long after the deal with Bell had expired following the 2015-16 season, the team inked another deal with streaming service Fubo for more than 40 games.

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Visit Buffalo, too, has tried to stay connected with Canadians amidst the tensions with the Trump administration. Kaler said the organization “doesn’t subscribe to what’s coming out of D.C.”

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Last February, around the time the president was routinely trolling about Canada as the 51st state, the organization relaunched an existing “Buffalo Loves Canada” marketing campaign and paid for two prominent billboards in Toronto. They ended it early due to negative feedback and have dialled back efforts to connect since, Kaler explained.

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“We’ve wanted to be respectful because we know that whenever we’ve done something with our messaging, Canadians will come at us and say, ‘We love you, Buffalo, but we’re not going to come until the president is out of office.’”

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“We, as the tourism organization for Buffalo, completely validate and appreciate Canadians’ feelings towards that.”

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But, he said, the viral anthem moment provided an ideal opportunity to “extend that olive branch” and remind Canadians what they mean to Buffalo. Last week, Visit Buffalo launched a new campaign with three billboards — one at the terminus of the Queen Elizabeth Way near the Peace Bridge and two more on either side of the Gardiner Expressway — that read “O Canada, We Meant Every Word.”

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Kaler emphasized that the campaign and its predecessor aren’t meant to be transactional but a reminder that Buffalo is ready to welcome Canadians when they’re ready, “if it’s this summer or if it’s three summers from now.”

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“We’re trying to be very respectful and not looking at this as, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re coming back — isn’t this going to be great for our economy,” he said.

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“We’re just thrilled at the fact that there’s consideration about Buffalo, that Canadians are seeing us in a positive light, that they do recognize that we are their friends across the border, and that we do share so many values.

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Payer and Rubin have generally nice things to say about Buffalo and Buffalonians.

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“I think they love Canadian fans when we enter the border, even if we’re just going for a game or for the day, they’re very nice at the border,” Payer said.

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Rubin, who attended university in Buffalo, added that he used to regularly attend a hockey tournament on the American side where any notion of nationality fell by the wayside.

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It’s worth mentioning here that the Sabres aren’t the only sports draw for Canadians — the Buffalo Bills have an equally strong legion of devotees from Ontario and the Buffalo Bisons, the Toronto Blue Jays’ AAA affiliate, have a healthy number of “herd” members, too. (The team offers Canadian dollar-at-par deals at home games.)