US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. This decision follows the collapse of trade talks between the US and Canada, which resulted in the US imposing new tariffs on Canadian goods. Trump stated that the order is "official, effective immediately," and that his administration has completed the necessary paperwork for the name change, which affects a body of water shared by both countries.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized that the lake has been known as Lake Ontario for over 400 years, predating both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence. Carney stated on social media, "things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario – today and forever."
The executive order requires the US Department of the Interior to update the name with the Geographic Names Information Service within 30 days. Carney noted that the name change is not recognized by Canada, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford asserting, "It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever."
Trump's previous actions included renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which was met with rejection from Mexico and led to legal disputes over the name change in mapping applications. The current name change proposal has raised questions about the authority of the US president to rename shared international waters.
While Trump claims the name change is not a direct message to Canada, he has expressed frustration over trade relations, stating that Canada has "been ripping us off for a long time on trade." He also suggested that further name changes could occur, joking about renaming the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Trade relations between the US and Canada have deteriorated, with both sides accusing each other of inflexibility during negotiations. Canadian US trade minister Dominic LeBlanc indicated that there may be potential for future negotiations, as the US has softened some of its demands regarding trade agreements.
Democratic lawmakers in the US have criticized Trump's order, with Michigan lawmaker Debbie Dingell planning to introduce a bill in Congress to nullify the name change. Dingell described the Great Lakes as a shared resource that should be preserved collaboratively. Other lawmakers have also mocked the name change, with Wisconsin's governor jokingly renaming Lake Michigan to Lake Wisconsin.
Trump's Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum supported the name change, stating that the waters bordering the US should reflect the country's greatness and that the US Geological Survey would implement the executive order to rename the lake.