- Trump has signed an order to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” in the US
- Canada has rejected the proposed name change
- The move comes amid growing trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the renaming of Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in the United States, escalating tensions with Canada amid an ongoing trade dispute.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that Trump announced the decision on Thursday, saying the name change was effective immediately.
The executive order gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name in the Geographic Names Information Service, the country’s official database for domestic geographic names.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes shared by the United States and Canada. It borders New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario.
The move comes as relations between Washington and Ottawa have deteriorated following the collapse of trade negotiations and the introduction of new US tariffs on Canadian products. Canada has responded by preparing equivalent retaliatory tariffs.
Trump had repeatedly floated the idea of renaming the lake on social media during the dispute. While signing the order at the White House, he said the decision was not intended as a direct message to Canada but linked his frustration with what he described as unfair US-Canada trade relations.
Canadian officials have rejected the proposed name change.
Prime Minister Mark Carney pointed out that the name Lake Ontario dates back more than four centuries and predates both Canadian Confederation and the founding of the United States.
“Canadian women and men also know that things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario – today and forever,” Carney said in a social media post.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also dismissed the change, saying Canadians would continue to refer to the body of water as Lake Ontario.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston similarly criticised the move, while Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said the country would continue using the traditional name.
Trump made a similar attempt to alter the name of the Gulf of Mexico after returning to office in 2025, directing US agencies to use “Gulf of America”. Mexico rejected the change, arguing that the United States could not unilaterally rename a shared international body of water.
The Gulf of America decision also triggered a dispute involving Google Maps, which displays different names depending on the user’s location.
The latest order over Lake Ontario is likely to face similar questions about its international recognition. Although the US government can determine the names used in its own official records, other countries are not legally required to adopt those names.
The proposed change has also attracted criticism from US lawmakers.
Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan said she planned to introduce legislation seeking to reverse the order, describing it as an unnecessary distraction from negotiations with Canada.
Other US politicians mocked the decision, with Wisconsin Governor jokingly declaring that he had renamed Lake Michigan “Lake Wisconsin”.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state is the only US state bordering Lake Ontario, said New Yorkers would not adopt the new name.
Trump’s Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, however, welcomed the order and said the department was prepared to implement the President’s directive.
The controversy comes as Washington and Ottawa remain locked in a broader trade dispute, although Canadian officials have suggested that further negotiations could still be possible if the United States softens some of its outstanding
