Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' amid escalating trade tensions with Canada. The move follows similar past actions and is expected to be rejected by Canadian officials.
Why it matters
This represents a significant escalation in diplomatic friction between the US and Canada, using symbolic geopolitical gestures to exert pressure during trade disputes.
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump announced Thursday that he is renaming Lake Ontario – a large body of water shared by the United States and Canada – “Lake America.”
Trump signed an order in the White House in a move that comes amid a spiralling trade war between the neighbours.
On Tuesday, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on about $20bn (€17.15 billion) worth of American goods after the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations.
Trump intensified the confrontation at the time by saying the US was giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America”.
The lake, which is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, shares a name with the Canadian province of Ontario.
The Canada–US border spans the centre of the lake.
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