U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday evening changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” in a further escalation of tensions with Canada amid the trade war with the United States’ northern neighbor.
“‘Lake America’ was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them.”
Surrounded by maps of the Great Lakes, Trump said the name change was “effective immediately” and that his team had “filed all the necessary papers, documents and everything else.” A White House adviser said “most of the lake’s area is in the United States” and that “the deepest parts” are in U.S. territory.
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Trump makes it official, renames Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Asked why he was so intent on targeting Washington’s allies, Trump replied: “The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people.” He added that Canadians are “the worst people when it comes to trade” and said “they feel entitled.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the executive order in a post on X, writing that: “The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.' The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America."
"Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always."
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The diplomatic confrontation comes against the backdrop of the tariff dispute. Over the weekend, trade talks between Canada and the United States collapsed after about two weeks of negotiations, and new U.S. tariffs of 50% on a wide range of Canadian products took effect.
“The progress that was made was not sufficient to meet our objectives for Canadians,” Carney said, ordering the Canadian negotiating delegation to return to Ottawa.
Several days later, Canada responded in kind, announcing tariffs of up to 50% on imports from the United States. The measures cover about $20 billion worth of goods and some 700 products. Among other things, Canada imposed 50% tariffs on steel, dairy products, appliances and agricultural equipment.
The Canadian tariffs are set to take effect September 8 and are expected to lead to higher prices for American consumers. Canada is the United States’ second-largest trading partner after Mexico. In the first half of 2026, for example, about 14% of all U.S. exports went to Canada.
Trump’s disparaging posts:
(Photo: Truth Social)
(Photo: Truth Social)
(Photo: Truth Social)
Donald Trump posted a picture of Canada as part of the US
In recent days, Trump has published a series of posts attacking Canada, continuing the dismissive tone he has taken toward the country after previously declaring his desire to “annex Canada and make it the 51st state” and even depicting it as part of the United States.
Several days ago, he announced on Truth Social that the United States was “seriously considering” changing the name of the lake — whose northern portion belongs to Canada and southern portion to the United States — to “Lake America.”
In the post, he wrote: “We don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.”
In another post, Trump said: “Canada wants all the benefits of being a State, without being one!!! They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!”
In another post published the day before yesterday, he wrote: “Canada has stolen from the United States for decades. They have charged our farmers tariffs of 400% and more. They have caused many American companies to lose business. I deal with many countries, and Canada is by far the most difficult and least reasonable to deal with. They feel entitled, but they are not a State and are no longer entitled.”