CEO who posted about wearing 'Lake America' sweatshirts to Halifax is no longer CEO

CEO who posted about wearing 'Lake America' sweatshirts to Halifax is no longer CEO

Jane Smith no longer working for Michigan's Family First Credit Union

The Michigan tourist who recently went viral over a Facebook photo where she and three family members appeared to be wearing "Lake America" sweatshirts has parted ways with her employer.

Jane Smith, the former CEO of Family First Credit Union in Saginaw, is no longer employed there, according to a statement posted on Wednesday to the company's website.

"We are reaching out to inform you that Jane Smith is no longer an employee of Family First Credit Union, effective immediately," reads the statement addressed to "Family First Credit Union Members and Community" and signed by the chair of the board of directors.

The statement continues to say that chief operations officer Jason Acosta is now serving as interim CEO. It does not provide any further information about why Smith is no longer employed, or whether the decision to leave the company was hers.

CBC News has reached out to Smith, Acosta and the credit union's marketing team, and not yet heard back. But the company apologized in a statement posted to the Family First Credit Union Facebook page on Wednesday.

"We sincerely apologize for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community," the post reads.

"We understand that members of our community may hold different perspectives about this decision. Our responsibility is to act in the best interest of the Credit Union, uphold the trust of our members and continue putting our community first."

The news comes in the wake of the backlash over a photo Smith had posted to Facebook on her way to Halifax, in which she and three family members pose wearing "Lake America" sweatshirts that Smith later said were AI-generated.

"Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will," said the Sept. 11 photo originally posted by Smith, and later shared by her sister, followed by "lol lol."

Michigan tourist who posted about wearing 'Lake America' sweatshirts to Halifax says it was AI

'Lake America' change highlights Canada's reliance on U.S. tech

Judging by the reaction online, just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" amid the trade war between the two countries, Canadians were not lol-ing.

In a previous interview with ABC12 News in Michigan, Smith said the image was AI-generated and meant to be a joke.

Republican mayor rejects Trump's Lake Ontario name change

"We weren't trying to make a political statement," Smith told the news outlet.

"However, we were, you know, kind of poking fun at the fact that, you know, one of the Great Lakes's names were getting changed."

She further explained that the sweatshirts weren't real, saying she ran a photo of them through ChatGPT to add the "Lake America" gear, then posted it to her private Facebook page with an AI label.

When they arrived in Halifax, it was her sister who reposted it publicly, added the comment and didn't include the AI warning, Smith said.

"We never had actual sweatshirts. We never wore sweatshirts."

There's been ongoing backlash over Trump's proposed name-change on both sides of the border. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canadians will call it Lake Ontario "now and always." In the U.S., three members of Congress have introduced a bill aimed at stopping Trump's renaming, titled "Hands off our Great Lakes."

Natalie Stechyson has been a writer and editor at CBC News since 2021. She covers stories on social trends, families, gender, human interest, as well as general news. She's worked as a journalist since 2009, with stints at the Globe and Mail and Postmedia News, among others. Before joining CBC News, she was the parents editor at HuffPost Canada, where she won a silver Canadian Online Publishing Award for her work on pregnancy loss. You can reach her at natalie.stechyson@cbc.ca.