President Donald Trump said on Thursday (August 27, 2026) that he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he exacerbates his trade war with Canada.

The Republican President signed an executive order that updated the lake’s name for the U.S. geographic naming service. Mr. Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.

Mr. Trump has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.

Mr. Trump has been needling America’s northern neighbour since he returned to the White House last year, suggesting the ally with whom the U.S. once had warm relations should instead be absorbed as the 51st state.

Canada responded to Mr. Trump’s import taxes this week by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment

Mr. Trump, who signed the order as he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, had a large sign behind him propped on a stand with a map of the Great Lakes. Over Lake Ontario, in big red letters, the map read “Lake America.”

On the other wide of the President was another map with the words, “MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER.”

He told reporters that Canada is “the worst” to deal with on trade. “They feel entitled and we can’t have that,” he said.

The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lake is one of multiple Great Lakes that the U.S. and Canada share borders along.

The move, which Trump said was “effective immediately,” is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.’”

Mr. Trump on Thursday (August 27, 2026) suggested his push to rename bodies of water may not be finished.

“So, if you think about it, we have a gulf, and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” Mr. Trump said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them.”

With his trade war with Canada intensifying, U.S. President Donald Trump has floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America”.

The suggestion mirrors his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Trump’s ‘Lake America’ post

Mr. Trump sharpened his rhetoric after Canada announced a fresh round of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods following the collapse of trade talks between the traditionally close allies on Friday (August 21).

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday (August 25, 2026), he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” and dismissed suggestions that a dispute over French language requirements had played a role in the breakdown of trade negotiations between the United States and Canada.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to do much business with Ontario any longer,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

He later shared a map in which the lake’s name had been crossed out and replaced with “Lake America”, with an American flag displayed above it.

Gulf of Mexico renaming

The proposal comes as Mr. Trump renews his call for Canada to become the “51st U.S. state” and as trade tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.

During his second term, Mr. Trump has unsettled several allies with a series of unusual territorial claims.

After returning to office, he fulfilled one of his 2024 campaign promises by signing an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The gulf borders both Mexico and the United States. Mexico does not recognise the change, nor do many other countries and international organisations.

Lake Ontario

One of North America’s five Great Lakes, Lake Ontario borders the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. State of New York. Toronto, Canada’s largest city, is located on its north-western shore.

The lake derives its name from the Huron word oniatarío, meaning “lake of shining waters”, a name that predates European settlement in the region. The province of Ontario, established in 1867, was named after the lake.

The International Hydrographic Organisation, of which both the United States and Canada are members, works to ensure that the world’s seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted uniformly. It also names some of them. However, there is no single international authority responsible for determining the names of international bodies of water.

The official U.S.-Canada border runs through Lake Ontario, separating its northern and southern shores. The lake forms a significant part of New York State’s coastline and lies between Buffalo and Toronto. Toronto is Canada’s most populous city, while Ontario is the country’s most populous province.

US tariffs on Canada

The United States and Canada remain locked in an extended trade dispute. The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after negotiations collapsed. The move increased tariffs that had already been introduced in 2025 shortly after Trump began his second term.

Mr. Trump has also threatened fresh 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Washington’s trade demands suggested that the United States wanted to “destroy our major industries”, including the automobile, steel and aluminium sectors.

Ontario is also the largest export destination for more than a dozen U.S. States.