Trump Orders Lake Ontario Renamed Lake America Amid Canada Trade Dispute

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the federal government to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, adding another point of contention to already strained relations between the United States and Canada.

The order comes amid a deepening trade dispute between the two countries. Trade negotiations collapsed late last week, after which the US imposed new 50% tariffs on $20 billion (C$28 billion) worth of Canadian goods. Canada has said it will respond with “dollar for dollar” counter-tariffs next month.

Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of renaming the lake, one of the five Great Lakes shared by the US and Canada. On Thursday, he said the change was “official, effective immediately” and that his administration had “filed all the necessary papers, documents”.

Under the executive order, the US Department of the Interior has 30 days to update the name in the Geographic Names Information Service, the federal repository for official domestic geographic names.

Canada Rejects Proposed Name Change

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move, pointing to the long history of the name Lake Ontario.

Carney said the name could be traced back more than 400 years, predating both Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.

“We know that the United States is changing. Their trade relations, their foreign policy, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” he wrote on social media. “Canadian women and men also know that things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario – today and forever.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also rejected the proposed name.

“It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever,” Ford wrote.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston similarly criticised the move, saying: “We're into some real foolishness now. It's Lake Ontario, buddy.”

Industry Minister Melanie Joly said: “We'll always call it Lake Ontario.”

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Government Has Paid P2.7 Billion In BDF Pension Enhancements

The lake borders the Canadian province of Ontario and New York state. It is the smallest of the five Great Lakes, four of which have names originating from Indigenous languages. Lake Superior's name derives from an anglicised French expression.

Trump Links Move To Trade Dispute

Trump said the renaming was not intended as a direct message to Canada, while simultaneously accusing the country of taking advantage of the US in trade.

“Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade,” Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office.

He also said he had been considering the change for a long time.

“So if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake,” Trump said.

“Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them both.”

The dispute follows Trump's earlier move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America after returning to the White House in 2025.

Mexico rejected that change, arguing that one country could not unilaterally rename a shared body of international water. The issue also became the subject of a legal dispute involving Google after the technology company changed the name displayed on its mapping service.

Google Maps users in the US see “Gulf of America”, while users in Mexico see “Gulf of Mexico”. Users elsewhere see “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”.

The White House also barred Associated Press reporters from presidential events over the news agency's refusal to use “Gulf of America” in its coverage. The AP subsequently sued the Trump administration, with the legal dispute continuing.

There is no universally recognised international authority responsible for determining the names of international waters. While the US government can determine how geographic features are officially identified within the United States, other countries are not required to adopt those names.

Canada has indicated that it will continue using Lake Ontario.

Trade Talks Leave Door Open

Despite the escalating rhetoric, there was some indication on Thursday that Washington and Ottawa could eventually return to negotiations.

Canadian US trade minister Dominic LeBlanc said the US had withdrawn some demands concerning French-language labelling requirements and had confirmed that measures supporting the French language and Canadian culture would not be subject to future US trade action.

“We look forward to further constructive US clarifications on their other positions, which would create the possibility of a mutually beneficial trade agreement that respects Canadian sovereignty,” LeBlanc wrote on X.

The latest trade negotiations broke down late on Friday, with both governments accusing the other of seeking last-minute changes to a tentative agreement.

The proposed lake renaming has also drawn criticism from US politicians.

Michigan Democratic congresswoman Debbie Dingell said she would introduce legislation in Congress seeking to nullify the name change, describing Trump's order as “idiotic”.

“The Great Lakes are a shared treasure that generations of Americans and Canadians have worked together to protect,” she wrote.

Other Democratic lawmakers criticised the move and called for the administration to focus on resolving the trade dispute.

Some responded with jokes about renaming other landmarks. Wisconsin's governor joked that he had renamed Lake Michigan “Lake Wisconsin”, posting a video of himself signing a napkin.

“See, I can sign napkins that say things, too,” he added.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state is the only US state bordering Lake Ontario, said New York “won't be calling it” Lake America.

Trump's Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, however, welcomed the order.

“We're on it, Mr. President!” Burgum wrote, adding that US government mapping agencies were ready to implement the directive.

“The places and waters that border our nation and support our economy should reflect the greatness of the United States,” he said.

The dispute over Lake Ontario's name therefore adds a symbolic dimension to a broader disagreement over trade, tariffs and Canadian sovereignty, with the two countries still facing unresolved differences at the negotiating table.