Ontario Premier Doug Ford has installed a large sign declaring "Lake Ontario. Now and Always" on Canada's shoreline, in direct response to US President Donald Trump's executive order to rename the lake "Lake America."
The dispute emerged after trade negotiations between the United States and Canada broke down, with the US subsequently imposing 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada has announced plans to implement matching counter-tariffs next month in response.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the US Department of the Interior to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, effective immediately. The president also shared several AI-generated videos on social media depicting the proposed name change, including one showing him replacing a Lake Ontario sign with one reading "Welcome to Lake America." Despite Trump's directive, other countries are not obligated to recognize the name change, and Canadian officials have dismissed the move.
Ontario Premier Ford responded by unveiling a large sign on Canada's shoreline affirming the lake's original name. "Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario. Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario," Ford stated. He suggested Trump's action stemmed from the premier's refusal to allow Canada to be disrespected. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney similarly asserted that "things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario - today and forever."
This incident mirrors a previous dispute over the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed the Gulf of America through an earlier executive order. Mexico rejected that change, leading to a legal dispute involving tech company Google, which now displays different names depending on users' geographic location—"Gulf of America" for US users and "Gulf of Mexico" for those accessing from Mexico or other countries.
