US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday renaming Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes shared with Canada, as "Lake America," in a move that comes amid a spiralling trade war between the world's largest economy and its northern neighbour.
"We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America," the 80-year-old Republican told reporters in the Oval Office, signing the order in a public signal that comes as US-Canada trade ties continue to sour.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 27, 2026
One of the five Great Lakes, Ontario spans the border between Canada and the US. Trump's move comes amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. pic.twitter.com/SnJQ5fZoz8
Trump was sharply critical of Canadian officials while announcing the change. "The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They're nasty people," he said.
The move mirrors Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025, a comparison he drew himself.
"The lake change, Lake of America, was something I've been thinking about for a long time. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it, and now it's very routinely the Gulf of America," he said.
BREAKING: President Trump officially changes the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 27, 2026
"If you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean." ???? ???????? pic.twitter.com/OZOmfibisP
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Trump went on to suggest the renaming spree may not stop there. "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 the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them both," he said, raising the prospect of further symbolic renamings targeting the world's largest oceans.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hit back on X shortly after Trump signed the order, pointing out that the lake's name predates both Canada's Confederation and America's own independence.
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari'io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 27, 2026
The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.…
Carney wrote that Canadians know that "naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always." He also took a swipe at the broader pattern of change under Trump, referencing shifts in America's "trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms."
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Lake Ontario spans the border between Canada and the United States and is among the five Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater system.
The name change, which Canada is unlikely to recognise or adopt, underscores the deepening rift between Washington and Ottawa, with the Trump administration having repeatedly used trade measures and now symbolic gestures to pressure its northern neighbour.
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