President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the U.S. government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” escalating tensions with Canada amid a widening trade dispute between the two countries.
Trump signed the order on Thursday, August 27, directing U.S. federal agencies to adopt the new name in official documents and maps. The move follows his earlier decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and restore the name Mount McKinley for Denali.
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The latest change affects only U.S. government usage. Trump cannot compel Canada to adopt the new name for the lake, which is shared by the two countries. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the body of water will continue to be called Lake Ontario in Canada.
The renaming comes as relations between Washington and Ottawa have deteriorated over trade. Trump has criticized Canada’s trade policies and has repeatedly argued that the United States is treated unfairly by its northern neighbor.
The U.S. president has also continued to raise the possibility of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state, a proposal that Canadian officials have rejected.
The dispute has intensified after the United States imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods. Canada has responded with retaliatory measures, adding pressure to an economic relationship involving deeply integrated supply chains.
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Trump’s Lake America order is largely symbolic but represents another example of his administration using geographic names to advance an “America First” political message.
Canadian officials have dismissed the renaming effort. Carney noted that Lake Ontario has been known by that name for more than 400 years, predating both Canadian Confederation and the founding of the United States.
The move is unlikely to change how the lake is officially identified by Canadian authorities or internationally, meaning the body of water could effectively have different names on either side of the border.