On August 12, during a press conference in the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” He declared the name change effective immediately, according to the White House press office.
The move comes as the U.S. and Canada clash in a trade war following Trump’s tariff hikes against its neighbor. Asked what message he wanted to send to Canada through the renaming, Trump criticized Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S., saying Canada “has taken advantage of the U.S. for a long time.”
“They haven’t treated us well. Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They are mean people,” he said.
“Renaming the lake to Lake of America is something I’ve thought about for a long time,” he added.
This is not the first time Trump has renamed a geographic feature tied to a neighboring country. In January 2025, immediately after returning to the White House, he signed an order to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America.” His rationale was that the gulf “has long been an indispensable asset to our growing nation and remains an integral part of America.” However, cartographers and governments have used the name “Gulf of Mexico” for nearly 500 years, predating the official establishment of the United States.
As for Lake Ontario, despite sharing its name with Canada’s most populous province, the lake is named after the Huron indigenous word “oniatarí:io,” meaning “sparkling water.” The province of Ontario, established in 1867, also takes its name from the lake.
At the signing ceremony, Trump also suggested renaming other bodies of water bordering the U.S. “We have a gulf and a lake. Now we just need an ocean. So maybe we’ll have to rename the Atlantic or the Pacific—maybe even both,” he said.
