Trump signs executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, further deepening the rift between the U.S. and what was once one of its strongest allies.

admin August 28, 2026 3 minutes read

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.

The order directs the Department of the Interior to implement the name change, further deepening the rift between the U.S. and what was once one of its strongest allies.

Why is Trump renaming Lake Ontario?

The backstory:

The U.S. and Canada, which share borders along multiple Great Lakes, including Lake Ontario, are locked in an extended trade dispute, with the Trump administration imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down. That ratcheted up lower tariffs that Trump imposed in 2025, shortly after his second presidency began.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he exacerbates his trade war with Canada.

Trump has also threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, while Carney said U.S. trade demands showed that Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum.

Trump introduced the idea of renaming the easternmost area of the Great Lakes earlier this week, hours before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s scheduled announcement of reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports into his country.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.

The White House followed later in the day by posting on social media a toy Lego map of the U.S. labeling the Gulf of Mexico with Trump’s preferred name, Gulf of America.

Can Trump rename Lake Ontario?

Dig deeper:

The lake’s name comes from the Huron Indigenous people’s word “oniatarí:io,” which means “lake of shining waters,” and it predates European settlement in the region. The province, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.

Trump has wide latitude over how the U.S. government recognizes geographic places and landmarks, but he can’t force Canada or individual citizens on either side of the border to follow his preferred naming conventions.