President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the U.S. government to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” adding a new source of tension to already strained relations between the United States and Canada.
Trump signed the order Thursday, August 27th, amid an escalating trade dispute between the two countries.
The order directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to update federal references to the lake in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.
The move applies to U.S. government usage, but it does not require Canada to adopt the new name. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the change, saying Lake Ontario’s name has deep historical roots that existed long before the United States and Canada became modern nations.
Indigenous leaders have also criticized the decision, arguing that the name carries important cultural and historical significance.
The Seneca Nation called for the order to be reversed, saying the change disregards Indigenous heritage.
Lake Ontario is shared by New York and the Canadian province of Ontario and is one of the five Great Lakes.
The Trump administration has previously pursued other geographic name changes, including changing the federal name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
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