U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada.
On Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump wrote: 'The United States is seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, because we don't expect to be doing much business with Ontario anymore.'
The move is seen as similar to how Trump sought to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America via an executive order last year.
In response to Trump's remarks, Canada's minister for U.S.-Canada trade, Dominic LeBlanc, said the country would not respond to posts on social media by the U.S. administration. 'Our federal government decided months ago that we will not respond to daily social media posts by the president or his cabinet ministers,' LeBlanc said in an interview on CNBC.
The United States and Canada are embroiled in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures on Tuesday. This follows the Trump administration's imposition of a 50% tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend, after trade talks between the two countries broke down. The new tariffs affect products including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods, and hockey equipment – equivalent to 5.5% of Canada's exports to the U.S.
Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes, bordering Canada's Ontario province and the U.S. state of New York. Ontario is Canada's most populous province and is home to the country's automotive industry.
Tensions between the two countries are rising as Trump on Monday demanded Canadian leaders 'fall in line' or face consequences 'MUCH worse' than the current tariffs. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to diminish his country's standing.
Trump also threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts, and steel, while Carney said U.S. trade demands show Washington wants to 'destroy our major industries,' including autos, steel, and aluminum.
Canada and the United States share one of the world's largest trade relationships, with deeply integrated supply chains in autos, energy, agriculture, and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade war costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border.
