US President Donald Trump has renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America”, escalating tensions with Canada as the two countries remain locked in a bitter trade dispute.
Trump’s executive order applies only to US federal usage of the lake’s name and does not determine what Canada, international organisations or other bodies call the more than 400-year-old lake.
“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“The lake change, the Lake of America, was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually.”
The decision was swiftly rejected by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state borders the lake.
Carney said the name predates both Canada and the United States as independent nations.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney said on social media.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”
About 52% of Lake Ontario’s surface area lies in Canada, with the remainder in New York.
Hochul was equally direct in rejecting the change, saying: “New York won’t be calling it that.”
Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican whose state borders Canada and New York, described Trump’s decision as “petty and disappointing” in a post on X.
The Wendat Nation in Quebec also condemned the renaming. Grand Chief Pierre Picard said the original name derives from the Wendat language and means “the lake is beautiful, great.”
“President Trump is trying to erase our history,” Picard said.
“Outraged, appalled, shocked: there are no other words to express how I feel following President Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America.’”
Trump suggested the renaming campaign could extend beyond lakes, saying he might consider changing the names of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“We have a gulf and we have a lake, 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,” Trump told reporters.
The announcement comes days after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed following three days of intensive talks, with both sides blaming each other for the breakdown.
Trump has repeatedly taunted Canada about becoming the 51st US state since returning to office, an idea Canadian leaders have dismissed.
The latest move is unlikely to ease tensions as the two governments attempt to revive negotiations over tariffs and broader trade relations.
Carney has said talks broke down over several issues, including proposed US changes that could affect Canada’s French-language rules, whether tariff relief would cover medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and US demands that could limit Canada’s ability to negotiate new trade agreements.
US officials have rejected that account, arguing that Carney made a political decision to walk away from the negotiations.
Trump’s administration has also previously sought to attach his name to prominent symbols of American power.
In January 2025, Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America”. The US Board on Geographic Names subsequently updated the federal government’s official geographic nomenclature to reflect the change for federal use.
Trump has also pursued naming changes involving Washington buildings, a planned class of Navy warships, a visa programme for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website and federal savings accounts for children.
Despite the escalating rhetoric, public opinion in the US remains broadly favourable toward Canada. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May found that 72% of Americans viewed Canada favourably, the highest rating for any country included in the survey and roughly twice Trump’s own approval rating.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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