US President Donald Trump has ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario to “Lake America”, escalating tensions with Canada amid an increasingly bitter trade dispute between the two neighbouring countries.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the US government to replace the lake’s name in official federal records, immediately drawing a sharp response from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney rejected the move, insisting that the body of water would remain Lake Ontario.
“We know that America is changing,” Carney said. “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”
Trump Takes Aim At Canada
Trump announced the change while signing the order at the White House, saying the new name would take effect immediately.
The US president defended the decision by criticising Canadian officials, accusing them of treating the United States unfairly.
The move comes days after US-Canada trade negotiations broke down, with both countries imposing retaliatory tariffs on each other’s goods.
Relations between the traditional allies have deteriorated sharply during Trump’s second term, with the president repeatedly criticising Canada’s trade policies and even suggesting that the country should become the 51st US state.
Why Lake Ontario Matters
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area and sits along the US-Canadian border.
The lake is bordered by Ontario province in Canada and New York State in the United States, making any unilateral change to its name particularly controversial.
Trump’s executive order instructs the US Department of the Interior to update references to the lake in the country’s official geographical naming system within 30 days.
The order argues that the United States has a claim to most of the lake’s volume because its deepest section lies on the American side.
Canada, however, has rejected the reasoning behind the proposed name change.
Another ‘America’ Name Change
Trump’s latest move echoes his controversial decision in 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” in US federal usage.
Mexico rejected that change, just as Canada has now rejected the proposed renaming of Lake Ontario.
Carney pointed out that the lake’s name dates back roughly 400 years and predates the formation of both modern Canada and the United States.
Trump Hints At More Renaming
Trump suggested that Lake Ontario may not be the last major body of water to receive a new name.
Speaking to reporters, he joked that after changing the names of a gulf and a lake, the United States could turn its attention to an ocean.
“All we need is an ocean,” Trump said, suggesting that the Atlantic or Pacific could potentially be renamed.
Tensions Continue To Rise
The dispute comes as Trump faces growing political and economic pressure at home, with the US midterm elections approaching in November.
His administration has also made a series of controversial territorial claims involving US allies and strategic regions.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of Canada becoming part of the United States and has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
He has also made claims concerning Venezuela and the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
For Canada, however, the message from Ottawa remains clear: whatever Washington calls it, Lake Ontario remains Lake Ontario.
