Trump signs executive order to rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America' as US-Canada tariff war escalates
Lake Ontario sits between New York and the Canadian province of Ontario
Published August 27, 2026
United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has officially renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America,” turning a threat he made earlier this week into a formal order as his trade war with Canada continues to escalate.
Trump signed the executive order on Thursday directing the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Board on Geographic Names to replace Lake Ontario with “Lake America” in federal records and maps. The change is to be implemented within 30 days.
Lake Ontario sits between New York and the Canadian province of Ontario, meaning the new name will apply to the lake in U.S. government records. Canada is not required to use the new name.
Trump had first floated the idea on Tuesday, saying the U.S. should rename the lake because Washington no longer expected to do much business with Ontario.
The move comes as relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply over tariffs.
The U.S. has imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, while Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs on more than 700 American products.
Trump has previously pushed similar geographic changes. His administration renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” for US federal use, another move that triggered criticism outside the United States.
In Thursday’s order, the White House argued that Lake Ontario is an important American economic and strategic resource and pointed to U.S. investment in the Great Lakes.
The order also says the lake's deepest areas and most of its volume lie within U.S. territory.
