Trump orders ‘Lake Ontario’ renamed ‘Lake America’ amid escalating trade war with Canada

President Donald Trump has ordered the US Department of Interior to replace the historic name of “Lake Ontario” with “Lake America” in federal geographic records, escalating his increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Canada amid a deepening trade dispute.

Signing the order at the Resolute Desk on Thursday, Trump displayed a map of the Great Lakes bearing the words “Lake America” over Lake Ontario, alongside another map labeled “MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER.”

Trump said the renaming was “official, effective immediately,” although the order itself gives the Department of Interior 30 days to implement the changes in US geographic naming records.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move, pointing to the lake’s Indigenous history and noting that its name predates both Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.

“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” Carney wrote on X.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was equally dismissive, saying: “It is Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston mocked the decision as “some real foolishness,” while New York Govener Kathy Hochul, whose state borders the lake, said New York “will not be calling it that.”

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on more than 700 US products

The new tariffs will cover C$27.6 billion worth of US imports, with duties of mostly 25% or 50% set to take effect on September 8.

The Wendat Nation also condemned the executive order, saying it amounts to an attempt to "eradicate" its history.

Grand Chief Pierre Picard, the Wendat Nation’s official spokesperson, said in a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday that the First Nation would not remain silent on the issue.

"Outraged, appalled, shocked: there are no other words to describe how I feel following President Trump’s decision," Picard said.

"For our Nation, the name Ontario embodies history, culture, and identity. To call this name into question is an abhorrent and unspeakable act," he added.

The lake’s name comes from the Wendat indigenous word “oniatarí:io,” meaning “lake of shining waters,” while the Canadian province of Ontario later took its name from the lake.

Trump insisted his decision was not intended as a geopolitical message, but immediately tied it to his broader grievances against Canada, saying, “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time” on trade and military issues.

The move follows Trump’s controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” last year.

 He also suggested that even larger bodies of water could eventually face the same treatment, including oceans.

“So maybe we will have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific,” Trump said, adding “Maybe we will change them.”

The order comes as Trump imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after trade negotiations collapsed.

Ottawa retaliated this week with tariffs on an equal value of US products, including steel, dairy goods, appliances and farm equipment.

Trump has repeatedly antagonized Canada since returning to the White House, even suggesting that the longtime US ally should be absorbed as the 51st US state.

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