US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’. This move is believed to be part of the ongoing, intense trade dispute with Canada. He announced the name change while standing before large maps in the Oval Office of the White House; CNN reported the news online.
Trump first raised the idea of renaming Lake Ontario after trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed last week. Earlier this week, he imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian goods worth approximately $20 billion, prompting Canada to retaliate by raising tariffs on US products. Claiming that a significant portion of US territory and waters lies within Lake Ontario, Trump stated that the name change would take effect immediately. Previously, he had renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’. Canada has strongly condemned Trump’s decision.
Canadian official Mark Carney wrote on the social media platform X that the name ‘Ontario’ originates from the Wendat word Ontariio, meaning ‘beautiful and large lake’; he asserted that it would remain known as ‘Lake Ontario’ today and forever. Additionally, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston strongly protested the move, describing it as ‘foolish’. Under the new executive order, the US Department of the Interior and the Board on Geographic Names have been directed to update all official documents and maps to reflect the name change from Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ within 30 days.
