President Donald Trump escalated his ongoing feud with Canada this week by officially directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” following through on a threat he made as trade tensions between the neighboring countries intensified.
Trump had previewed the move in a video posted Wednesday night, where he sat in the Oval Office with a printed map of the Great Lakes and used a Sharpie to cross out Lake Ontario before writing “Lake America” in its place.
“So this is Lake Ontario, in Canada and in the United States,” Trump said in the video. “But we’re gonna make a little change.”
“We’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario. We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence,” Trump joked before altering the map.
Trump then declared the old name “gone,” drawing a comparison to his previous move to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
“Now we have Lake America, without the ‘of.’ Thank you very much, everybody. Enjoy Lake America,” Trump said.
The president took the stunt a significant step further Thursday when he signed an executive order formally directing the Interior Department to adopt “Lake America” for federal government use. executive order
The order instructs the Interior secretary, working with the Board on Geographic Names, to update the federal Geographic Names Information System within 30 days and remove references to Lake Ontario from that system. Federal agencies will also be directed to use “Lake America” in government maps, contracts, documents and communications.
The change, however, applies to the U.S. federal government and does not force Canada to recognize the new designation.
The move comes amid a rapidly deteriorating trade relationship between Washington and Ottawa.
Trump’s latest jab followed the U.S. imposing 50% tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Canadian goods after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed.
Before signing the order, Trump had already floated the potential name change on Truth Social.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing [sic] much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump wrote, according to Conservative Brief. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Canadian officials quickly rejected the proposal, making clear that they would continue referring to the body of water by its longstanding name.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back by highlighting the Indigenous origins of the Lake Ontario name, which predates both the U.S. and Canada.
The dispute is the latest flashpoint between Trump and America’s northern neighbor, per the Conservative Brief.
Trump has repeatedly floated the prospect of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state, rhetoric that has generated fierce opposition from Canadian political leaders.
He has also targeted Canada over wildfire smoke drifting into the United States and sparred with Canadian officials over the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.
The president has argued that the U.S. has been treated unfairly in its economic relationship with Canada.
Earlier this week, Trump accused Canada of “ripping off” the U.S. and declared, “WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” as the two governments prepared for another round of tariffs.
For the U.S. government, however, Trump’s latest move is no longer merely a Sharpie joke. Under the executive order he signed Thursday, Lake Ontario is now set to become “Lake America” across federal government references.
