- US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the Department of the Interior to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, amid escalating trade tensions with Canada.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the renaming, stating that the name Lake Ontario carries a long history and will always be used by Canadians.
- Several US state governors and Canadian premiers also rejected the name change, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul stating her state won't be calling it Lake America.
- Trump's order gives the Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name with the Geographic Names Information Service.
- Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, straddles the US-Canada border, with the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and the US state of New York to the south.
- Mark Carney emphasized that the name Lake Ontario is rooted in the Indigenous Wendat language, meaning 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.'
- Carney noted that the name Lake Ontario is over 400 years old, predating both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, a move that coincides with rising trade tensions between the US and Canada. The order mandates federal agencies to update maps and documents to reflect the new name.123567
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded, asserting that the name Lake Ontario has a rich history, originating from the Wendat word Ontari'io, meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big." He emphasized that Canadians will continue to call it Lake Ontario, stating, “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”
The name change comes after the US imposed a 50% tariff on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting retaliatory measures from Canada. Carney noted that the name Lake Ontario predates both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence, highlighting its significance.
Trump, who claimed the name change was under consideration for a long time, stated, “We’ve notified all the various people we have to notify. This is official effective immediately.” However, he lacks the authority to rename the Canadian portion of the lake or compel international recognition of the new name.
Local leaders, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, have also rejected the name change, reinforcing that it will remain Lake Ontario in their jurisdictions.
The executive order gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to implement the name change in official records.
“The order gives the Interior Department 30 days to update the Geographic Names Information Service, but Trump lacks authority over Canada's portion of the lake. Canadian premiers and US governors, including Kathy Hochul and Doug Ford, vowed not to use the new name, with Hochul saying 'New York won't be calling it that.'”
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