US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for official US federal use, in the latest escalation of his dispute with Canada.
Trump signed the order Thursday at the White House and said the change would take effect immediately. The order directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to update federal geographic records and naming systems.
Trump justified the move by accusing Canada of treating the United States unfairly on trade and defense. He said Canada had been “ripping us off” on trade and criticized Ottawa for its relationship with Washington.
However, the order does not require Canada or international organizations to adopt the new name. Lake Ontario is shared by the US state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario, and more than half of its surface is in Canadian territory.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismissed the move and said Canadians and much of the rest of the world would continue to know the lake as Lake Ontario.
The name change comes amid a rapidly worsening trade dispute between the United States and Canada. Washington recently imposed 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, while Canada responded with its own retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of American products.
The latest move echoes Trump’s decision in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” for US federal purposes.
Trump also suggested that more geographic name changes could be considered, joking that after a gulf and a lake, the United States could eventually rename the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government had not immediately issued a formal response to the latest order.
The controversy has added another symbolic dimension to already tense relations between the two neighboring countries, as both sides continue to impose tariffs and seek to protect their economies.
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