President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday directing federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" in official U.S. government documents and records. The order applies to one of the five Great Lakes shared between the United States and Canada. While the directive governs federal naming conventions, the order does not have the authority to compel Canada or private citizens to adopt the new name.
The action follows a breakdown in trade negotiations between the two nations last week. In response to the collapse of those talks, the Trump administration ordered tariffs, which were met with retaliatory tariffs from Canadian officials. Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing ceremony, the president stated that Canadian officials had "treated us very badly" and characterized the country as "the worst to deal with on trade."
Early in his second term, the administration made a similar effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." In his remarks on Thursday, the president said Canadians "feel entitled" and stated, "we can't have that."
The source notes that the president's authority to rename landmarks does not extend to individual citizens or foreign sovereign states, meaning the change will not be reflected in Canadian law. The source does not state when or if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names will formally review the change or if legal challenges will be filed.