U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced plans to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” in the United States, adding a symbolic new front to his escalating trade dispute with Canada.
Trump directed the U.S. Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the country’s geographic naming system. However, the move does not give the United States authority to compel Canada or other countries to adopt the proposed name.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Ottawa following the breakdown of trade negotiations. The United States recently imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting Canada to respond with retaliatory tariffs on a similar value of American products, including steel, dairy goods, appliances and farm equipment.
Trump signed the order at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. Behind him was a large map of the Great Lakes displaying the words “Lake America” over Lake Ontario. Another map positioned nearby carried the message, “MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER.”
As he signed the order, Trump said the necessary notifications had been made and declared the change “official, effective immediately.”
However, the executive order itself provides for the changes to be implemented within 30 days.
Canadian officials quickly rejected the proposed renaming.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed the move, pointing to the lake’s Indigenous history and noting that its name predates both Canadian Confederation and the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” Carney wrote.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has previously clashed publicly with Trump, also rejected the change.
“It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever,” Ford wrote on X.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was similarly dismissive, saying: “We’re into some real foolishness now. It’s Lake Ontario, buddy.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state shares a border along Lake Ontario, also rejected the proposed name.
“New York won’t be calling it that,” Hochul wrote on X.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes shared by the United States and Canada. Because there is no single international authority responsible for determining the names of international bodies of water, Trump has considerable authority over how the U.S. government officially refers to geographic features within its jurisdiction.
The name Lake Ontario has Indigenous origins. It is derived from a Huron term, “oniatarí:io,” commonly translated as referring to a lake of shining waters. The Canadian province of Ontario, established as a province in 1867, was subsequently named after the lake.
Trump linked the renaming initiative to his broader criticism of Canada’s trade and military relationship with the United States.
He said Canada had “been ripping us off for a long time” and argued that the country had sought treatment comparable to a U.S. state.
“They wanted to be treated like a state and they’re not a state,” Trump said. “We just can’t do that anymore.”
At the same time, Trump said the move was not intended to convey a specific geopolitical message, adding that the United States “love[s] the people of Canada.”
Trump’s latest proposal echoes his earlier decision to promote the name “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico, another controversial geographic renaming initiative.
After signing the order, Trump appeared to suggest that his campaign to rename major bodies of water could continue.
“So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” he said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them.”
