US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, effective immediately, in response to collapsed trade talks with Canada. The US has imposed 50% tariffs on $20bn worth of Canadian goods, prompting a "dollar for dollar" counter tariff from Canada. This is not the first time Trump has attempted to change the name of an international body of water, having previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in a move that led to a legal dispute with Mexico and tech giant Google. The new order gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name change with the Geographic Names Information Service.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
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Trump → publish → America
The move comes after trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed last week, and the US imposed new 50% tariffs on $20bn (C$28bn) worth of Canadian goods.
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US → come → goods
Canada will implement "dollar for dollar" counter tariffs next month.
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Canada → implement → tariffs
Trump said the move to rename the lake, which straddles both countries, was effective immediately.
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which → say → countries
He has broad discretion over how the US recognises landmarks but other countries do not have to follow.
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countries → have → landmarks
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said "things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario - today and forever".
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lake → say → name
Text of the executive order says it gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name change with the Geographic Names Information Service - the official repository of domestic geographic names in the US.
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it → say → US
Carney noted that the name Lake Ontario could be traced back more than 400 years, adding that it preceded the formation of the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.
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it → note → Independence
We know that the United States is changing.
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States → know → ?
Canadian women and men also know that things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario - today and forever."
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lake → know → name
When Trump took to the White House in 2025, he signed a similar order that changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
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that → take → America
Mexico has rejected the name change, arguing a single country cannot rename a shared body of international water.
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country → reject → water
It also led to a legal dispute between Mexico and tech giant Google, which renamed the gulf in its maps application.,
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which → lead → application
In that case, Google Maps users in the US see "Gulf of America", while those in Mexico see the "Gulf of Mexico".
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those → see → Mexico
Those in other countries see the "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".
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Those → see → America
The White House at the time also blocked Associated Press reporters from presidential events over the news agency's refusal to adopt the name "Gulf of America" in its coverage.
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House → block → coverage
The AP sued the Trump administration in response, and that legal battle is ongoing.
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battle → sue → response
Canadian officials dismissed Trump's move to rename the lake.
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officials → dismiss → lake
Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote: "It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world.
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It → write → world
Other premiers and ministers made similar statements.
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premiers → make → statements
The names of four of the Great Lakes - Ontario, Huron, Michigan and Erie - originate from indigenous words.
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names → originate → words
Lake Superior was named after an anglicised French word.
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Superior → name → word
Lake Ontario, the smallest of the Great Lakes, borders both the Canadian province and the US state of New York.
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Ontario → border → York
Trump's Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum applauded the move, writing: "We're on it, Mr. President!"
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We → applaud → it
"The places and waters that border our nation and support our economy should reflect the greatness of the United States," he said, adding that the US Geological Survey "maps our country for the world to see, and we are PROUD to implement your Executive Order to rename LAKE AMERICA".
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we → border → AMERICA
But Democratic lawmaker Debbie Dingell of Michigan, the US state that borders four of the five Great Lakes, said that she would introduce a bill in Congress to nullify the name change, calling Trump's order "idiotic".
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she → border → order
She wrote: "The Great Lakes are a shared treasure that generations of Americans and Canadians have worked together to protect".
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generations → write → Americans
Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state, the sole US state bordering Lake Ontario, would not be calling it Lake America.
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state → say → it
As he signed the order on Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump said it was not a direct message to Canada, but that America's northern neighbour "has been ripping us off for a long time on trade".
US-Canada relations have fallen to new lows, with insults thrown back and forth over the past week.
But there was a hint on Thursday that there was room for a return to the negotiating table.
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insults → sign → table
Canadian US trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said the US had withdrawn some of its demands around labelling requirements in French, one of the sticking points.
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US → say → points
The US has maintained it never made demands about language.
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it → maintain → language
Both sides have accused the other of demanding last-minute changes that caused the breakdown in trade negotiations.
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that → accuse → negotiations
Readers in the UK can sign up here.
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Readers → sign → UK
Those outside the UK can sign up here.
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Those → sign → UK
