Trump orders Lake Ontario renamed to Lake America; Canada erects counter-sign as trade dispute escalates
The US president issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, prompting Canadian officials to reject the move and erect a defiant public sign.
What happened
On Thursday, Trump issued an executive order directing US federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, effective immediately. Google Maps changed the name for US users to reflect the order, though it continues to display "Lake Ontario" for Canadian users and both names for users outside the US and Canada. On Saturday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded by erecting a two-story high billboard near Grimsby declaring "Lake Ontario. Now and Always," while Trump posted AI-generated videos of himself kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with Lake America while dancing to YMCA. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney flat-out rejected the renaming, explaining that Lake Ontario derives from a Wendat Indigenous word meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is great" dating back more than 400 years. Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard called the move an attempt to erase Indigenous history.
Context
The lake-naming dispute is the public face of an escalating trade conflict between the US and Canada, which includes a 50% US tariff on Canadian steel and retaliatory Canadian tariffs, with talks stalled. This renaming order mirrors a similar Trump directive earlier in his second term to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The dispute affects how the largest geographic information systems classify the body of water within US borders, though it does not alter naming conventions in Canada or internationally. Lake Ontario is the smallest of North America's five Great Lakes by surface area at 7,340 square miles. Canadian officials, including other provincial premiers, have characterized the move as performative and tied to Trump's base rather than substantive policy.