Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the US government to rename the lake Lake America. According to BBC, he has also shared several AI-generated videos mocking the existing name of the lake, which is... The post Canada hits back at Trump’s ‘Lake America’ order, installs ‘Lake Ontario’ sign appeared first on Tribune Online .
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to US President Donald Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” by unveiling a large sign on the Canadian shoreline declaring: “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the US government to rename the lake ‘Lake America’. He has also shared several AI-generated videos mocking the existing name of the lake, which is shared by Canada and the United States.
“Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario. Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said.
The dispute comes amid worsening tensions between the two countries after trade talks broke down. The US has imposed new 50% tariffs on $20bn (C$28bn) worth of Canadian goods, while Canada plans to introduce “dollar for dollar” counter-tariffs next month.
Trump said the renaming order took effect immediately when he signed it.
Although the US president has broad authority over how American government agencies recognise geographic landmarks, the order does not require other countries to adopt the new name. Canadian officials have rejected Trump’s decision.
On Saturday, Trump shared several AI-generated videos on social media. One showed him kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with one reading: “Welcome to Lake America.”
Another depicted Canada geese with Trump-like hair carrying rifles as they patrolled the shoreline of the newly named Lake America.
Ford said Trump’s decision to rename the lake was because he “didn’t like Ontario and Canada standing up for ourselves”.
Standing beside the newly unveiled sign, Ford said: “Just in case President Trump or anyone else forgets, we’ve set up this sign to remind them, it’s Lake Ontario, now and forever.”
His comments echoed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s earlier response to the dispute, when he said: “things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario – today and forever”.
Four of the Great Lakes — Ontario, Huron, Michigan and Erie — have names derived from Indigenous languages. Lake Superior was named after an anglicised French word.
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes and borders the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York.
Trump’s executive order gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name in the Geographic Names Information Service, the official US repository for domestic geographic names.
Trump made a similar move after returning to the White House in 2025, signing an order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Mexico rejected that decision, arguing that a single country cannot rename a shared body of international water.
The dispute also resulted in a legal battle involving Mexico and Google after the technology company changed the gulf’s name on its Maps application.
Google Maps users in the US see “Gulf of America”, while users in Mexico see “Gulf of Mexico”. Users in other countries see “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”.
(BBC)
