A credit union CEO's 'Lake America' sweatshirt joke in Halifax cost her the job

On 11 September 2026, Jane Smith, CEO of Family First Credit Union in Saginaw, Michigan, posted a Facebook photo of herself and three family members in 'Lake America' sweatshirts on her way to Halifax, captioned 'Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will' — followed by 'lol lol.' Weeks earlier, US President Donald Trump had signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario 'Lake America' amid the trade war between the two countries.

The sweatshirts were not real: Smith later told ABC12 News she had run the photo through ChatGPT to add the 'Lake America' gear and posted it to her private page with an AI label, 'poking fun' at the renaming rather than making a political statement. It was her sister who reposted the image publicly — without the AI label — and it went viral. Judging by the reaction, Canadians were not lol-ing.

On 24 September, a statement from the board chair on the credit union's website announced that 'Jane Smith is no longer an employee of Family First Credit Union, effective immediately', with chief operations officer Jason Acosta stepping in as interim CEO. No reason was given and it was not clear whether the decision was hers. The company apologised on Facebook: 'We sincerely apologize for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community.'

The CEO was dismissed effective immediately; the credit union issued a public apology for 'concern, disappointment and pain' and installed an interim CEO.

The punchline mocked a rename Canadians were already angry about — the trade war made 'lol lol' read as a taunt.

AI-generated imagery stripped the context: a private, labelled joke became, once reposted, a family proudly wearing the insult.

For a member-owned credit union, trust is the product — a viral gaffe by its CEO made the board's duty to members unambiguous.

A joke that lands in one country can detonate in another: test geopolitical humour against the audience at the destination, not the departure gate.

The dismissal was effective immediately, with no word on whether leaving was Smith's decision; CBC reported that follow-up requests to Smith, Acosta and the credit union's marketing team went unanswered.