President Trump has signed an executive order officially renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America," escalating an already bitter trade war with Canada. "This is official, effective immediately," Trump announced from the Oval Office, claiming he had "filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else" to make the name change binding.
When asked what message he was sending Canada, Trump initially said "No message," before quickly adding, "Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade. They don't pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they're not a state."
The order argues that since "the deepest parts of the Lake's waters lying within United States territory, the United States claims most of the Lake's volume," giving the president grounds to rename it. Lake Ontario has carried its original name since at least the 1600s.
The move comes just days after trade talks between Washington and Ottawa completely broke down, triggering new 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada fired back with matching "dollar for dollar" retaliatory tariffs set to take effect September 8, though it later softened tariffs on seafood and fish products to limit broader economic damage.
This isn't Trump's first move of this kind, he previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" last year. Trump has hinted more renamings could be on the way, saying the Lake Ontario change was "something I've been thinking about for a long time."