Donald Trump officially renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America after signing an executive order on August 27. The move came amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Canada after trade negotiations broke down.
Donald Trump renames Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ in new executive order
Economic feud between the U.S. and Canada escalated as the U.S. president signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.
Lake Ontario is one of the major waterways in North America shared between Canada and the U.S.
In a clip shared on TikTok on August 26, Trump said, “We’re gonna make a little change, we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario. We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence.”
According to PEOPLE, Trump took a Sharpie in the video, crossed out Lake’s name, and wrote “LAKE AMERICA.”
The day after the video was shared, Trump revealed to reporters in the Oval Office that he was signing executive orders to rename the lake. He said, “As you know, Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade. We defend Canada for nothing… They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada.”
He added, “They don’t pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they’re not a state. They want to be treated like they’re a state and we just can’t do that anymore. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.” While talking to reporters, Trump also referenced his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
He initially proposed the idea of changing the lake’s name on his Truth Social after his trade negotiations with Canada broke down. He recently criticized Canadian leaders and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian cars, trucks, and automotive parts.
The move came amid growing tensions between Canada and the U.S. over trade deals.
Originally reported by Aman Sharma for Reality Tea
