US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for US geographic records, escalating his trade dispute with Canada. The order updates the name in the US geographic naming service.
The change applies only within the United States. Trump cannot compel Canada to adopt the new name, and the lake will keep its original designation across the border. Lake Ontario is the easternmost of the Great Lakes and forms part of the boundary between the two countries.
The move recalls Trump’s decision last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” for US purposes, a change that other nations and international bodies did not universally recognize.
Trump signed the order as friction with Ottawa has deepened over trade. The two governments have traded tariff threats and countermeasures across several sectors, including the auto industry, in recent months. The naming decision arrives as those disputes have continued to strain the auto sector on both sides of the border.
The renaming carries no binding legal effect outside US federal mapping and documentation. International cartographers, Canadian authorities and global geographic databases are under no obligation to follow the US designation.
The White House released the order without a stated timeline for implementation across federal agencies. Canadian officials had not issued a formal response at the time of signing.