Trump orders Lake Ontario renamed “Lake America” amid US-Canada trade war

The rural town of Ontario, which sits on the border of the US, was caught in the crossfire of the president's trade war with Canada after he ordered the lake's name to be changed.

WASHINGTON: Google redesignated Lake Ontario as “Lake America” on maps seen by US users on Sunday after President Donald Trump announced he was renaming the body of water, with a Canadian official slamming the cross-border tensions as “absolutely backwards.” People in Canada will still see Lake Ontario, the Indigenous-rooted name used for the lake since the 17th century, on their devices and computers, the US-based tech giant said. The shock nomenclatural spat erupted as the latest element of Trump’s “America First” narrative, with longtime allies the United States and Canada ramping up a trade war that has seen Washington and Ottawa slap tit-for-tat tariffs on each other. Apple’s Maps app that comes installed on all iPhones makes no mention of “Lake America” on its maps as of Sunday morning. Google said it made its change in line with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official federal database for geographic names. “Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US, people using Maps in the US will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names,” Google said on its blog. The change mirrors Trump’s unilateral altering of the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025 — a move Mexico has also rejected. Ontario is the smallest by surface area of the five Great Lakes, which straddle the Canada-US border between Ontario province and the US state of New York. The province’s premier, Doug Ford, offered fresh criticism Sunday of the trade dispute and Trump’s lake name change. “It’s absolutely backwards. It was like something out of (US comedy TV show) ‘Saturday Night Live’ when he signed a document saying — changed to ‘Lake America.’ No one’s going to call it Lake of America,” Ford told ABC talk show “This Week.” “It’s just so disappointing.” Ford also warned that while a trade war would harm both countries, “it’d be definitely devastating on the US” given that Canada has been by far the largest purchaser of US vehicles. Should those buys dry up, US auto factories would be hit hard. “A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people,” he said. “It’s probably the worst move you could ever do.” Canada and the US have a deeply interconnected auto manufacturing sector, and a sizeable portion of parts for US vehicles are made in Canada. Trump himself waded in Sunday to say Americans “want to make our own cars.” “Canada has been ripping us off for years — NO LONGER!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Sunday said that President Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" resembled "something out of 'Saturday Night Live.'" Ford slammed Trump's trade war with Canada that placed a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods in an interview with "This Week" host Martha Raddatz on...

One of the biggest and strangest stories to emerge this week has been United States President Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America as a result of an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. The decision prompted longtime NFL broadcaster Al Michaels to poke fun at Trump during a preseason game broadcast, and…

Operation Epic Tantrum In an astonishing outburst best termed ‘Operation Epic Tantrum,’ U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Lake Ontario be renamed ‘Lake America.’ No matter that the original name may have come from the Huron word ‘Ontarí:io,’ which translates as ‘Great Lake’ or ‘Sparkling and Beautiful Water.’ While it remains to be seen whether […]

Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario is symbolic political theater aimed at diverting our attention away from the fallout of his trade war with Canada, write Reuben Rose-Redwood and Derek Alderman.

President Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as tensions with Canada remain high over trade. CBS News' Taurean Small reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” on Thursday, escalating a feud with Canada that has already spawned tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade. Trump’s executive order on Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, applies to U.S. federal usage about the lake, and does […]

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America" on Thursday, escalating a feud with Canada that has already spawned tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—United States (US) President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed "Lake America" as he escalated his trade war with Canada, sparking immediate pushback from Ottawa. Trump stepped up his trolling of Canada by signing an executive order changing the name of the body of water on the border between the North American neighbors. But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney swiftly rejected Trump's move, saying it would be called Lake Ontario "then, now and always." The volatile US leader's move comes after US-Canada trade talks collapsed at the last minute last week, prompting the two longtime allies to slap tit-for-tat tariffs on each other. "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America," the 80-year-old Republican told journalists as he signed the order at the White House. Asked by an AFP reporter why he was targeting an ally for punishment instead of America's adversaries, Trump replied: "The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They're nasty people." Behind Trump's desk in the Oval Office were two maps -- one with the words "Lake America" in red over the lake, and the other with the header, "Making the Great Lakes Even Greater." - Canada strikes back - Lake Ontario is the smallest by surface area of the five Great Lakes, which straddle the border between the United States and Canada. It borders the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York. The name change mirrors Trump's unilateral altering of the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025 -- a move Mexico has also rejected. Carney retorted that the name of the lake was 400 years old -- predating the formation of both the United States and Canada -- and came from an Indigenous word meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big." "We know that America is changing," he said in a post on X. "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario -- then, now and always." Carney's defiance of Trump in recent days has won plaudits at home. In Toronto, Canada's largest city which lies on the lake's northwestern shore, Canadians and Americans alike criticized Trump's move. "Typical Trump. He's being a bully, he goads, he antagonizes," said Mark Weicker, who lives in Kitchener, west of Toronto. "He's just trying to egg us on," chimed in Jake Marchuk, who was visiting from Alberta province. Megan Smith, who hails from New Jersey, put it bluntly: "It just makes him look stupid." - 'All we need is an ocean' - Trump's executive order tells the US Department of the Interior to update references to the lake in the official geographical naming service within 30 days and ensure the federal government calls it "Lake America." It justifies the name change by saying that the deepest part of the lake is on the American side, meaning that the United States "claims most of the Lake's volume." Trump -- who faces low approval ratings amid the Iran war and economic woes at home, with crucial US midterm elections around the corner in November -- said he had been thinking about the name change "for a long time." The US president even hinted at renaming oceans that border the United States. "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 both," he said. During his second presidential term, Trump has irked a series of allies with his outlandish territorial claims, including that Canada should become the 51st US state. Trump has also laid claim to Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and talked about making Venezuela a state following the US capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro. In recent days, he has also said that he will make the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman a US territory, despite the fact that the war with Tehran remains ongoing.

Donald Trump renames a lake on the US-Canada border as the neighbouring North American nations continue exchanging blows in their damaging trade war.

Trump renames Lake Ontario as Lake America amid Canada tariff row

It’s the second time the president has attempted to change the name of a body of water bordering the United States — and while Trump said he wasn’t trying to send a message to Canada, he’s already slapped Ottawa with punishing new tariffs.

Donald Trump has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down

The move is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures amid an all-out trade war between the U.S. and Canada.

Trump renamed Lake Ontario this week amid his escalating trade war with Canada. What would you name it? Sound off in this week's DC Insider poll.

Need any more proof that Donald Trump’s pettiness knows no bounds? The president signed an executive order Thursday to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”After sparking a trade war with Canada last week, Trump turned his attention to the incredibly important issue: changing the name of a lake.The executive order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update the geographic names to reflect the new name of the Great Lake that shares a border with Canada.Trump: We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. Effective immediately. It’s going to take place as sign this order. pic.twitter.com/8Ga4qycjeQ— Acyn (@Acyn) August 27, 2026The move is reminiscent of his first act as president, which was to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” This is what happens when a president can’t actually govern: he’s forced to revert to trolling. “So, if you think about it, 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 Pacific,” Trump said at the signing. Trump admitted Wednesday that he’d been behind the detonated trade negotiations last week. American negotiators reportedly revealed at the last minute that they planned to exclude medium- and heavy-duty trucks from their promise to drop tariffs on Canadian automobiles, and tried to restrict Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries. Another reason that Canadian negotiators walked away was reportedly because the U.S. made what were, in their view, unreasonable demands restricting French-language product documentation.Since then, Trump has threatened to double tariffs to 50 percent on roughly $28 billion worth of products starting on January 1. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a slate of retaliatory tariffs on about 700 products of up to 50 percent that will go into effect on September 8. Earlier this week, Trump joked that he’d change the name of Lake Ontario, observing that “we don’t expect to [be] doing much business with Ontario any longer.” That’s one of the many problems with this administration: they take their jokes way too far. But if Trump’s latest approval numbers are any indication, Americans just aren’t impressed by rage bait—not as prices continue to rise thanks to Trump’s months-long war in the Middle East. This story has been updated.

With his trade war with Canada intensifying, President Donald Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario to become "Lake America." America's northern neighbors quickly panned the idea.

President Donald Trump announced his desire to change the name amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America amid a trade war with Canada. Here's what we know

Trump shared a map in which the lake’s name had been crossed out and replaced with “Lake America”, with an American flag

US President Donald Trump said he's considering the name change amid increasingly difficult trade relations between the US and Canada.

Canada's leaders heard Trump's threat to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, and they don't really care.

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" as his trade war with Canada intensifies

In a post on social media about renaming the body of water, Trump said the US does not expect to continue doing business with Ontario "much longer."

President Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America on Tuesday as Canada announced retaliatory tariffs against the United States as the countries' trade war escalates. CBS News' Olivia Rinaldi has more.

With his trade war with Canada intensifying, U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario to become “Lake America.” America's northern neighbors quickly panned the…

The comment came as Canada announced a volley of tit-for-tat tariffs on US goods after trade talks between the historically close allies broke down.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada won't be subordinated as 50 per cent US tariffs trigger a CAD$5.4 billion ($5.4 billion) aid package.

The U.S. President’s threat to rename the Great Lake is reminiscent of his previous push to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

US president taunts Mark Carney with map post on Truth Social as trade war escalates

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was considering renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America" as his trade war with Canada escalated. The threat — which Trump backed up with a map featuring the new name — mirrored his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America last year. Trump stepped up his rhetoric as Canada announced a volley of tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. goods after trade talks between the historically close allies broke down on Friday. "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 said on his Truth Social network. Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes located on the border between Canada and the United States. It shares a name with the Canadian province of Ontario, which borders the lake along with the U.S. state of New York. Toronto, Canada's largest city, sits on the northwestern shore of the lake. Trump later posted a map with the words "Lake Ontario" crossed out and replaced with "Lake America" in

Canada is retaliating against the United States with new tariffs and President Donald Trump is floating changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” in the latest salvos in the weekslong trade dispute between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake...

The president has decided to escalate his trade war with our northern neighbor, amidst a real war with Iran and skyrocketing costs at home

The president’s threat is his latest jab at Canada since trade talks between the two countries broke down.

President Donald Trump proposed renaming Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ Tuesday.

The United States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures on Tuesday. That's in response to the Trump administration enacting 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.

US President Donald Trump said that he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" as a trade war between the United States and Canada escalates.

Lake Ontario borders both the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, arguing that Washington does not expect to do much business with Ontario anymore.

Tensions between Canda and the US have ramped up in recent days over trade.

Trump previously declared the Gulf of Mexico to be the ‘Gulf of America’ (Picture: Getty) Donald Trump has advocated for renaming Lake Ontario and said he doesn’t ‘expect to do much business’ with Canada any longer. As a tariff feud with the US’ northern neighbour escalates, the president is now claiming he will rename the giant body of water to ‘Lake America’. He wrote on Truth Social today: ‘The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to do much business with Ontario any longer. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ Trump added: ‘Canada has been “Ripping Off” the U.S.A. for decades. They have been charging our Farmers 400% Tariffs, and more. They have driven many wonderful U.S. companies out of business. ‘For 10 years they wouldn’t certify Gulfstream Jets, until I got involved. They wanted 100% of the market for Gulfstream’s Canadian competitor.’ ‘I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable. They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer.’ Trump shared a mocked-up image showing the ‘new name’ (Picture: Donald Trump) This week, Trump has been threatening Canada with ‘far worse’ consequences if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney doesn’t engage in trade discussions. The president is threatening to increase tariffs on Canadian trucks, cars, steel and automotive parts beginning next January. In response, Canada threatened ‘dollar-for-dollar’ tariffs. Carney said Canada would only resume trade discussions with the US if the nation entered with the ‘right attitude’. Ontario premier Doug Ford took a different approach to the failed talks. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes (Picture: Shutterstock) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page In a press conference yesterday, he told Trump to ‘kiss my ass’ and said Canada should charge the US for oil and gas. Ford, the brother of late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, also called Trump a ‘dictator, bully and a loser’. Trump touted back on Truth Social: ‘Lots of “bluster” from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford. ‘America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer! The U.S.A. will always be far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada.’ After re-entering office in 2025, Trump attempted to ‘rename’ the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’. It was one of the Republicans’ first calls as US president hours after being sworn in. Similarly, Alaska’s Denali was changed back to Mount McKinley, almost 10 years after it was renamed during Barack Obama’s presidency. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as a trade war between the United States and Canada escalates. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing […]

President Trump said the U.S. is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" amid an escalating trade fight with Canada.

The intensifying fight with Canada presents yet another challenge for Trump ahead of November midterm elections

Trump's renaming threat arrives amid a bitter collapse in trade negotiations, which triggered 50 per cent U.S. tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian goods.

The president cited his tariff fight in a social media post, saying the United States doesn’t expect to be “doing much business with Ontario any longer.”

Trump floats 'Lake America' rename as US-Canada trade war deepens

Trump floats renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" and accuses Mark Carney of fabricating claims about French-language demands in trade talks.

Trump gives "serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America," and he may not be "doing much business" with the province.

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is home to the country’s auto industry.

Lake Ontario to become Lake America? Trump floats name change amid Canada trade war

Trump floated the possibility of rebranding Lake Ontario, in a shot against Canada's most populous province -- whose premier threatened to cut off electricity and minerals to the US.

The rhetoric between the two countries is escalating, with Trump telling Canadian leaders on Monday to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs.

President Trump said Tuesday that his administration is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, amid the trade war between the U.S. and Canada. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario...

President Trump on Tuesday said he wants to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America," opening a new front in the trade war with Canada.

"The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America," Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday.

President Trump is taking out his frustrations on Canada by threatening to rename Lake Ontario. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump posted early Tuesday morning on Truth Social. Trump was responding to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who responded to Trump’s tariff threat against cars and trucks produced in Canada Monday by telling the U.S. president that “he can kiss my ass as far as I’m concerned.“We’re going to go at him full steam, and we buy 400 percent more cars than anyone in the world,” Ford said in a radio interview. Trump also denied reports that Canada pulled out of trade negotiations over the weekend over crazy last-minute demands from Trump administration officials such as changing Quebec’s French-language protections. “I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French! In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec. I love French Canadians! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump posted less than 45 minutes after his threat to rename Lake Ontario. Trump’s feud with Canada could have far-reaching economic effects. Canadian officials will announce their own retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Tuesday. These could target any number of goods and services that Canada provides to its southern neighbor, including electricity, oil and gas, uranium, aluminum, and rare earth materials. The price of gas and other goods in the U.S. is already high thanks to the Iran war and Trump’s mismanagement of the economy. A trade war with Canada will only hurt the American economy further and punish consumers just in time for November’s midterm elections. This story has been updated.

Trump weighs renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America amid US-Canada tariff war

The fight exploded over the weekend after trade talks collapsed and Washington slapped 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.

The fight exploded over the weekend after trade talks collapsed and Washington slapped 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.

'Lake America': Trump floats plan to rename Lake Ontario amid escalating US-Canada trade row

President Donald Trump says the United States is giving "serious consideration" to renaming one of the Great Lakes as relations with Canada's most populated province sour.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The US and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected on Tuesday to announce retaliatory measures after the Trump administration enacted...

U.S. and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected Tuesday to announce retaliatory measures

President Donald Trump claims to be considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" after US trade talks with Canada broke down.

Ontario’s premier had earlier slammed Trump as a ‘dictator’ and ‘the king of bankruptcies’

The US President issued a bombshell statement.

'... we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,' the U.S. president said Tuesday morning

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is considering renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” as a trade war between Canada and the U.S. escalates. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” […]

President Donald Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” escalating his war of words with Canadian officials on Tuesday as an intensifying trade fight strains the close economic relationship between the countries.

The prospect of Lake Ontario being renamed "Lake America" was flagged Tuesday morning by President Donald Trump as the U.S. cross-border trade war with Canada rolls on. The post Trump ‘Giving Serious Consideration’ to Renaming Lake Ontario as Cross-Border Trade Wars Roll On appeared first on Breitbart.

Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Trump's remarks come amid a deepening cross-border trade feud that has increasingly centered on Ontario Premier Doug Ford.