Trump Signs Executive Order Renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America Amid Canada Trade War

President Trump on August 27 signed an executive order immediately renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, escalating his administration's ongoing trade dispute with Canada. The move follows Trump's earlier suggestion that the U.S. was considering the rename, which he tied to tariff tensions with Canada, saying the United States does not expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer. It mirrors a prior action in which Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, a change that applies to U.S. federal references but does not bind other nations.

The Lake Ontario renaming similarly would affect official U.S. usage, though Canada and other countries are not obligated to recognize it.