United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America. According to FOX 26, the order takes effect immediately, with Trump saying that all the necessary papers and documents had been filed and that the relevant parties had been notified of the change. He described the measure as a straightforward but important order as he signed it.
The executive order directs the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, and the Department of the Interior to update the Geographic Names Information Service so that the body of water once known as Lake Ontario will, from this day forward, be recorded as Lake America. FOX 26 reported that the change was presented as official and effective immediately once the order had been signed.
Explaining the decision, the administration argued that the lake is fundamentally American. According to FOX 26, officials said most of the lake's volume lies within the United States and that its deepest parts sit in US territory, leading Trump to describe it as an American lake. Trump said a video of him crossing out Lake Ontario and writing Lake America had been viewed by more than 30 million people across social media platforms.
The move follows a similar step taken earlier by the administration. According to FOX 26, Trump noted that the Gulf of Mexico had already been renamed the Gulf of America and is now routinely referred to that way. He added that, having renamed a gulf and a lake, he might also consider changing the name of the Atlantic or the Pacific ocean, and suggested he could possibly change both.
As he signed the order, Trump linked it to his wider grievances with Canada. According to FOX 26, he claimed that Canada had been treating the United States unfairly on trade and that the country loses, on average, more than 60 billion dollars a year in what he called carrying Canada. He also said the United States would impose substantial tariffs on Canadian cars, arguing that the vehicles should be built in the United States.
The renaming drew a sharp response from Canada. According to CBC News, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a new sign for the lake in Bonona, a small lakeside community on the outskirts of Hamilton, that reads Lake Ontario now and always. Ford said Trump can call it whatever he wants, but that the rest of the world, and Canada, will always call it Lake Ontario.
Ford said he had received numerous calls from US governors telling him they would continue to call the lake Lake Ontario. He described Canadians as resilient and strong, said the country would always protect its sovereignty, and vowed that Canada would never back down from what he called a bully. CBC News reported that his remarks came in direct response to Trump's decision to rename the body of water Lake America.