Last week’s U.S. midterm elections may have cut like a knife through Donald Trump’s political agenda, but Bryan Adams says he saw the backlash coming. Earlier this year, when the Canadian rocker began performing “51st State,” his punchy anthem rebuking the U.S. president’s threats to annex his homeland, he wasn’t sure how American audiences would respond. But from St. Louis to Texas and several red states in between, Adams says, concertgoers soaked it up. “Every night, man, people stood up and cheered for that song,” he recalls. “That’s when I thought to myself, ‘Maybe the temperature in the room is different than what we thought.’ Perhaps it was inevitable that things were going to be a blue wave come the midterms.” Speaking from Madrid, where the 67-year-old is on tour, Adams says the Democratic gains in last week’s elections made sense. “Groceries are more expensive, gas is more expensive, they’re on the streets with ICE,” he says. “The budget’s gone up trillions of dollars. The average guy, the promises that were made (to them) aren’t being delivered.” Adams’ comments come on the heels of his new album “How’s It Goin’?,” which finds the “Summer of ’69” singer trading his usual heart-on-sleeve romanticism for elbows-up patriotism, exploring Canada’s history and present-day political tensions. It’s an unusually topical collection for the veteran hitmaker, whose songs have largely steered clear of overt political critiques. The move has some critics questioning whether Adams is motivated by genuine conviction or a desire to rekindle interest in his music. But the Kingston, Ont.-born artist, who went independent in 2024, says he’s more interested in creative freedom than chasing the commercial success of his ’80s and ’90s heyday. “I don’t have a manager. I don’t have a record company. I’m doing it on my own,” he says. “I’m not going to delude myself into thinking that, you know, my records are going to do what they did, so I’m just having fun.” The project came together by chance after Adams was asked earlier this year to write a song for the nature documentary “Canada’s Wild Eastern Edge.” With Trump’s annexation threats dominating headlines at the same time, he felt inspired to make more music about Canada, writing one song at a time while touring Africa. There’s also “Lake Ontario,” a rousing mid-tempo singalong taking aim at Trump’s executive order directing U.S. federal agencies to refer to the body of water as “Lake America.” The tune wastes no time with metaphors, casting the war in Iran as “another distraction” while “the Epstein files were getting traction.” Adams added the song to the album at the last minute as Trump’s provocations toward Canada mounted. “It’s so easy for people in positions of power just to mouth off. What surprises me is if you’re a man in such an enormously powerful position, why would you not want to turn all of your power for the power of good?” he says. “Just think of the money that’s been spent going after Iran. Imagine if you put all that money into taking care of people in your own country and start using diplomacy instead of using weapons.” Adams also looks inward on the album, exploring his home and native land’s history through “A Handful of Gold,” about the Klondike Gold Rush, “Iron Ribbon,” chronicling the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and “The Battle of Lundy’s Lane,” revisiting a bloody clash from the War of 1812. “The Ballad of Terry Fox,” meanwhile, is a spirit-lifting tribute to the Marathon of Hope runner that Adams says has drawn cheers at European concerts, where a subtitled video introduces his story to audiences largely unfamiliar with it. Adams recently bonded with Prime Minister Mark Carney over their admiration for Fox when separate engagements brought them to Thunder Bay, Ont. The two grabbed coffee at local spot the Persian Man before visiting the Terry Fox memorial, making for a very Canadian photo op that circulated widely online. “I think he’s the right man at the right time,” Adams says of Carney, “particularly because he was able to stand up to the bullying that’s been going on.” Despite his criticism of Trump’s administration, Adams says he’s hopeful about the future of Canada-U.S. relations and has no reservations about returning to perform south of the border. “I’m an eternal optimist, so I’m going to say it’s going to get better.” Adams says his father’s diplomatic career took their family around the world, but Ottawa remained a home base before they eventually settled in Vancouver. He lives there now, taking care of his 98-year-old mother. “We call her the legend,” he says. It’s there that he’s also filming his second annual holiday jam broadcast, featuring Sarah McLachlan, Blue Rodeo, Lindsay Ell and the East Pointers. And it looks like he isn’t ready to put his elbows down just yet. Adams says he has enough unfinished ideas for a second volume of Canadian-themed songs, including one that’s nearly complete. Has all this digging into Canadiana changed the way he sees his homeland? Not exactly. “I’m already in love,” he says. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2026. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
