US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America with immediate effect, opening a fresh rift with Ottawa.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately rejected the decree, declaring that the body of water bordering both nations would remain named Lake Ontario today and forever.
Responding in French on the social media platform X, Carney highlighted the deep historical roots of the lake name and insisted that Canada would not recognize the American redesignation.
Carney wrote that Canadians were aware that the United States was altering its trade relations, foreign policy, national monuments, and hydronyms. However, he added that Canadians also knew the importance of calling things by their proper names, emphasizing that the lake is called Lake Ontario today and forever.
The Canadian prime minister noted that the name of the lake dates back more than 400 years. He pointed out that this long predates both the Canadian Confederation of 1867 and the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776.
According to etymological explanations provided by the Canadian government, the name Ontario derives from the Iroquois word kanadario, which means sparkling water. The Canadian province of Ontario also shares its name with the lake, and Carney made the historical dimension of the designation central to his response.
Oval Office signing and map display
Trump signed the directive at the White House, where a map displayed in the Oval Office for the occasion showed the body of water, one of the Great Lakes in the border region, already labeled as Lake America in large red letters.
In the text of the order released subsequently by the White House, the administration stated that the United States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes.
The document further stated that the United States claims the largest part of the lake volume because its deeper sections are located on American territory.
The unilateral decision carries no international recognition. Following the signing, Trump raised the possibility of further geographic renamings.
Trump stated that the United States possessed a gulf and a lake and that the only missing element was an ocean. He added that his administration might change the name of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, or both.
Earlier at the start of his second presidential term, Trump ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Prior to signing the latest order, he had repeatedly referred on social media to renaming Lake Ontario and had stated on several occasions that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Escalating trade warfare and tariffs
The geographical dispute emerges as Washington and Ottawa remain locked in a harsh trade confrontation marked by retaliatory tariffs.
Trump has accused Canada of taking advantage of the United States and launched a fresh attack on Wednesday, stating that Canadians had treated the United States very badly and describing them as bad people.
The new action by the Republican president risks undermining hopes expressed by Ottawa on Thursday for a resumption of bilateral trade talks.
Washington is set to impose new tariffs on a series of Canadian products starting Saturday, following Ottawa's decision to suspend commercial negotiations.
Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes, straddling the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and New York State. Despite the executive order updating US official maps, international hydrographic standards remain unchanged.
