Toronto: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to US President Donald Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario by unveiling a large sign on Canada’s shoreline declaring: ‘Lake Ontario. Now and Always.’ The move is the latest exchange in an escalating war of words between Canada and the United States.
Trump signed an executive order seeking to rename the shared body of water Lake America, saying the change would take effect immediately in the United States. Canadian officials have rejected the move, pointing out that the US cannot determine how another country names a shared landmark.
Ford said the lake had been called Lake Ontario long before Trump and would continue to carry the name after the US president leaves office. Ford also accused Trump of targeting Ontario and Canada because of Canada’s willingness to stand up for its interests.
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The dispute comes amid worsening trade tensions between the two countries. Trade talks recently collapsed, with the US imposing 50 percent tariffs on around $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada has said it will respond with matching counter-tariffs from next month, adding to tensions between the neighboring countries.
Trump has also used social media to promote the proposed name change, sharing AI-generated videos depicting Lake Ontario as Lake America. One video showed Trump replacing a Lake Ontario sign with a Lake America sign, while another featured Canada geese with the US president’s hairstyle and rifles patrolling the shoreline.
The latest dispute follows Trump’s earlier attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. While the US can determine the names used in its own official geographic records, other countries are not required to recognize such changes. Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes and borders Canada’s Ontario province and the US state of New York.
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