Trump Rebrands Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ Amid Trade War

​President Donald Trump escalated a spiraling trade war with Canada on Thursday by signing an executive order officially renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America”.

​Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump asserted that the change is effective immediately, claiming his administration has finalized all necessary domestic legal notifications. The move mirrors his controversial decision last year to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”, and follows the collapse of trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa.

​“We have a gulf and we have a lake—now all we need is an ocean,” Trump told reporters, teasing potential future renamings of the Atlantic or Pacific.

​The presidential decree directs federal mapping agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, to update geographic information systems and documentation. However, the White House holds no jurisdictional authority over the Canadian half of the body of water, nor can it compel international mapmakers or foreign governments to adopt the new moniker.

​Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney swifty countered the move, taking to social media to highlight the historical and cultural significance of the region. Pointing out that the name Ontario originates from the Indigenous Wendat word Ontari’io—meaning “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”—Carney emphasized that the designation spans more than four centuries, predating both Canadian Confederation and American independence.

​“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney wrote. “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”

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​Domestic pushback was similarly swift. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state shares a border with the lake, dismissed the proclamation outright, posting on social media that “New York won’t be calling it that.” Other Great Lakes governors similarly rejected the decree.

​The cartographic maneuver comes on the heels of severe economic blows exchanged by the two neighbors. Following the breakdown of bilateral talks, the Trump administration levied a 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods—targeting items ranging from beer and wine to cheese, electronics, and hockey sticks—while threatening additional duties on automotive parts and steel. In response, Carney announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on hundreds of American products, slated to take effect on September 8.