Trump signs executive order to change Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'
(CNN) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday afternoon to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” further needling Canada as he engages in a tense trade war with the United States’ northern ally.
Flanked in the Oval Office by large maps of the Great Lakes — one titled “Making the Great Lakes Even Greater,” with a “Lake America” label over Lake Ontario — Trump said the name change would be “effective immediately.”
“‘Lake of America’ was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Trump said. “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 has wide latitude over how the US government refers to geographic landmarks, though he can’t force other countries to follow suit. After he took similar executive action last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” Mexican officials lambasted the move and made clear they would keep using the old moniker. Google later announced that its maps feature would reflect the name “Gulf of America” for American users, while Mexican users would still see the name Gulf of Mexico.
Trump had been floating the name change since trade talks between the US and Canada fell apart last week. Trump enacted 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend, and Canada quickly followed suit by announcing increased tariffs on various US products. Trump has threatened to further escalate if Canada doesn’t back down.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was seriously considering renaming Lake Ontario “in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.” Canada is the United States’ second largest trading partner, behind Mexico, according to US Census data, making up 12.6% of its total trade.
It didn’t take Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney long to push back, pointing out in a post on X Thursday afternoon that the origin of Lake Ontario’s name is more than 400 years old, predating the founding of both the US and Canada. He concluded that his country would “forever” call it Lake Ontario.
“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big,’” he wrote. “We know that the United States is changing. Their trade relations, their foreign policy, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadian women and men also know that things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario — today and forever.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had a more succinct reaction on X shortly after Trump signed the executive order: “We’re into some real foolishness now. It’s Lake Ontario, buddy.”
The new executive order tasks Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the Board on Geographic Names to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” within 30 days, including updating the Geographic Names Information System and removing “all references to Lake Ontario, consistent with applicable law.”
Trump also directed the Board on Geographic Names to provide guidance on the name change within the federal government, so agency maps, contracts, documents and communications state “Lake America” instead.
In his executive order, Trump claims the name change reflects the fact that “the deepest parts of the Lake’s waters” and most of its “volume” are in US territory. He called the body of water — which borders Ontario, Canada and New York — “a tremendous asset to the United States and part of our Nation’s heritage.”
In the Oval Office Thursday, Trump repeatedly said Canada was the “worst to deal with on trade,” calling them “entitled.”
“The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people,” he said.
Shortly before Trump signed the executive order, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said on X that Canada had made a “good faith” decision to pull seafood and fish products from its retaliatory tariffs list. She urged Trump administration officials to respond “by returning to the negotiating table and working to amicably resolve this trade dispute.” Minutes later, images of Trump alongside the “Lake America” maps were broadcast live.
Collins is a top Democratic target in the midterm election, and the tariffs will be acutely felt in her home state.
The US-Canada trade talks seem to be on hold for now. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday that he’s not in active talks with his Canadian counterpart, Dominic LeBlanc.
“I would say we don’t have open channels right now. I have a good relationship with Minister LeBlanc, but right now I think the Canadian side is, you know, talking about their next steps,” Greer told CBC News in an interview from the White House North Lawn.
Fights over the name change may not be limited to Canada. After the president signed the executive order establishing the “Gulf of America,” the Associated Press — which shares writing style guidelines widely used by news organizations — refused to recognize the new name. The White House subsequently barred AP’s access to covering certain events in the Oval Office or traveling on Air Force One.
A federal judge ultimately ruled that the White House’s actions were unconstitutional.
This story has been updated with additional information and context.
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