Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America'

Executive order on geographic name

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing the renaming of Lake Ontario to "Lake America," mandating that federal agencies update official geographic records to reflect the change effective immediately.

"We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately to Lake America," Trump said in the Oval Office while signing the document. The directive orders Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update the Geographic Names Information Service accordingly.

Trade war with Canada

The move comes amid deteriorating relations between Washington and Ottawa following the collapse of trade negotiations and Washington's imposition of new tariffs on Canadian goods, which prompted swift retaliation. Trump denied the renaming targeted Canada, telling reporters "No message," when asked what signal the change sent.

The president then criticized Canadian trade practices, stating Canada had been "ripping us off for a long time" and accusing Ottawa of failing to contribute sufficiently to North American defense. "We lose, on average, over the last 15 years, $60 billion a year carrying Canada," he said, adding that "we just can't do it anymore."

Auto tariffs and further renaming threats

Trump threatened substantial tariffs on Canadian automobile imports to pressure manufacturers to relocate production to the United States. "We don't want them to make cars for the United States of America," he said, claiming Canadian officials had treated Washington very badly and declaring the situation had to end.

The president compared the Lake Ontario renaming to his administration's earlier decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." Referring to that change as now "very routinely" accepted, Trump suggested further geographic alterations could follow. "All we need is an ocean," he said, adding that "maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific."