President Donald Trump has ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario, the large body of water shared by the United States and Canada, to “Lake America,” as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.
Trump announced the change on Thursday after signing an order at the White House, telling reporters that the new name was “effective immediately.”
The move came days after Trump revealed that he was considering renaming the lake amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. He had earlier posted a map showing “Lake Ontario” crossed out and replaced with “Lake America” in large gold lettering alongside a US flag.
Trump’s decision mirrors his earlier move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, another controversial step that drew opposition from Mexico.
The latest name change comes as Canada and the United States exchange retaliatory tariffs following the breakdown of trade talks between the two long-standing allies.
Trump had said on his Truth Social platform that the United States was seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario because Washington did not expect to be doing “much business with Ontario any longer.”
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes along the United States-Canada border. It shares its name with the Canadian province of Ontario, while New York is located on the lake’s southern shore. Toronto, Canada’s largest city, sits on its northwestern shore.
The renaming also adds a personal dimension to Trump’s ongoing dispute with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who recently responded angrily to the US president’s policies and threatened a surcharge on electricity exported to the United States.
Trump has also renewed his call for Canada to become the 51st US state, further intensifying tensions between Washington and Ottawa.
The move is part of a broader pattern during Trump’s second presidency, in which his administration has pursued controversial territorial and geographical claims involving close US allies.
Mexico, for instance, has rejected Trump’s attempt to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a decision announced shortly after he returned to office on January 20.
