Canada takes another dig at President Donald Trump’s 'Lake America' name change

Canada has taken another dig at President Donald Trump after he signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’.

Trump managed to get under the skin of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney after he signed the order rebranding the lake, which is bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by New York, last week.

Taking aim at the POTUS, Carney issued a quick history lesson, reminding Trump that the lake’s name predates both modern Canada and the United States.

“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari'io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big’,” Carney said.

Now, Premier of Ontario Doug Ford has also weighed in.

At the weekend, Ford unveiled a huge new sign on the banks of the lake proudly displaying the words: “Lake Ontario Now and Always” in both English and French.

The 24 by 12ft sign stands on six-foot legs, putting its top about 18 feet above the ground — roughly two stories high.

Explaining the move, Ford said: “You may have heard that President Trump is trying to rename this lake, all because he doesn’t like Ontario and Canada standing up for ourselves.

“But let’s be serious. Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario and long after President Trump is gone, it’ll still be called Lake Ontario but just in case President Trump or anyone else forgets, we’ve set up the sign to remind them: it’s Lake Ontario now and forever.

In a follow up post on X, he wrote: “Make no mistake: Lake Ontario is and always will be Lake Ontario.”

According to Global News, Trump told the press the rebrand wasn't about sending a message.

“No message,” he insisted.

"As you know, Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade, very sadly. Even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing, we don’t get anything."

He went on to call Canadian government officials 'nasty people', while joking: “Now all we need is an ocean.”

“Maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic or the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them both.”

Trump’s executive order means that US federal agencies will use 'Lake America' in their official geographic records.

It’ll also show up as ‘Lake America’ on Google Maps for users in the US.

However, it cannot force any other countries, including Canada, to abandon the name Lake Ontario.

So, in short, US officials can call it Lake America and Canadian officials can continue to refer to it as Lake Ontario.

But some US politicians have also pushed back.

US politicians have pushed back.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said her state will not call the lake by Trump's preferred name, while Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott described the move as 'petty and disappointing'.

Trump continued promoting the new name on Saturday, reposting a meme showing Canada geese with Trump-like blond hair firing rifles as they ‘protected’ Lake America.

Trump has repeatedly used maps to make political points. A ‘Gulf of America’ map was displayed for a time beside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, and Trump has posted images depicting Canada as part of the United States or as the 51st state.

The name Lake Ontario comes from the Huron Indigenous people’s word ‘oniatarí:io’, which means ‘lake of shining waters’.

The Canadian province of Ontario, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.