By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-27 18:21:56 | Updated at 2026-09-04 21:26:02
1 week ago
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" amid an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday to officially change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, effective immediately.
“Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade, very sadly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after signing the executive order. “Even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior will update the Geographic Names Information Service to reflect the new name.
On Aug. 25, Trump announced his intention to change the lake’s name after recent trade talks with Canada collapsed.
“They don’t pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they’re not a state,” Trump said, adding that the United States will be imposing tariffs on Canadian vehicles “at a substantial level.”
Negotiations between Canada and the United States broke down on Aug. 21, leading to new 50 percent U.S. tariffs on nearly $20 billion of Canadian products taking effect on Aug. 22.
Trump also announced on Aug. 24 his plan to impose new 50 percent tariffs on all Canadian vehicles beginning in 2027, after Canada announced its intention to impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
In January 2025, Trump issued an executive order for all U.S. agencies to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
“We have a Gulf, and we have a Lake—now all we need is an ocean,” Trump joked on Aug. 27. “Maybe we‘ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
