President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for official United States government use, escalating a symbolic dispute with Canada amid a widening trade fight.
“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America,” Trump told reporters during the August 27 Oval Office signing. The White House followed with a similar post on X:
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Lake Ontario is renamed to LAKE AMERICA! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZFww8PexiW
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 27, 2026
The change applies to federal maps, databases, contracts, documents and agency communications. It does not require Canada, international organizations, private mapmakers or other countries to adopt the new name.
The order comes after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed and the United States imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs on an equivalent value of American imports.
Order Directs Federal Name Change
The executive order, titled “Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America,” directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to work with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to complete the change within 30 days.
The Interior Department must update the Geographic Names Information System, the federal government’s official database of domestic geographic names, and remove references to Lake Ontario from that system.
The Board on Geographic Names must also instruct federal agencies to use “Lake America” on government maps, contracts and other documents and communications.
The order says the United States has played a leading role in protecting and maintaining the Great Lakes. It notes that the U.S. Coast Guard operates nine of the 11 icebreaking vessels serving the lakes and says the United States has invested nearly $4 billion in the freshwater ecosystem over the past decade.
It also asserts that the deepest portions of Lake Ontario lie within U.S. territory and that the United States therefore holds most of the lake’s water volume.
Lake Ontario is shared by New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. Approximately 52% of its surface area lies on the Canadian side, according to Reuters.
An American executive order cannot compel Canada to use the new designation.
“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario. Period,” Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said before Trump signed the order, as USA Today reported.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded similarly Thursday.
“He can change it to whatever he wants,” Ford said in a statement provided to ABC News. “But it will always be Lake Ontario to all Canadians and the rest of the world!”
A Name Older Than Both Countries
The name Ontario predates both the United States and modern Canada. It is derived from an Indigenous Iroquoian term commonly interpreted as “lake of shining waters,” according to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.
European maps were using versions of Lake Ontario by the 17th century. The Canadian province established in 1867 subsequently took its name from the lake.
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, covering approximately 7,340 square miles. It is about 193 miles long and 53 miles wide, according to figures cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Toronto and several other major Canadian population centers sit along its northern and western shoreline, while Rochester, Oswego and other New York communities lie along the American side.
Trade Fight Preceded Renaming
Trump first publicly floated the new designation on August 25 after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the United States was giving “serious consideration” to the change because it did not expect to conduct much business with Ontario.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he suspended negotiations after the United States introduced last-minute demands affecting Canada’s other trading relationships, automobile sector, culture and French-language protections.
“As a result, last evening, I suspended trade negotiations with the U.S.,” Carney said in an August 22 address.
Washington has disputed Canada’s account and accused Ottawa of retreating from previously negotiated terms.
Canada subsequently announced counter-tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on products covering 27.6 billion Canadian dollars in U.S. imports. The measures are scheduled to take effect September 8, according to the Canadian government’s Department of Finance.
Trump Points To Gulf Precedent
The Lake America order follows Trump’s January 20, 2025, executive order directing federal agencies to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico and restoring Mount McKinley as the federal name for Denali.
Mexico rejected the Gulf of America designation. Google Maps later displayed different labels based on a user’s location: “Gulf of America” in the United States, “Gulf of Mexico” in Mexico and both names elsewhere, the Associated Press reported.
Trump suggested Thursday that other geographic renamings might follow.
“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” Trump said, before mentioning the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to ABC News.
For now, Lake America is the required name within the U.S. federal government. North of the border, Canadian officials say Lake Ontario is not going anywhere.
Provided by Dallas Express
