President Donald Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” amid his escalating tariff war with 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 doing much business with Ontario any longer,” the Republican president wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
One of the five Great Lakes, Lake Ontario straddles the border between the U.S. and Canada. It is bounded to the north by the province of Ontario and to the south by New York. Its name comes from the Huron word “Ontarí’io,” which means “beautiful water.”
The president’s remarks capped a tumultuous week in U.S.-Canada relations, marked by the collapse of trade negotiations, the imposition of steep tariffs and a bitter exchange with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called Trump a “dictator.”
On Saturday, the U.S. imposed a 50 percent tariff on about $20 billion of Canadian imports after last-minute talks between Ottawa and Washington broke down. The levies apply to a range of goods, from wine to hockey sticks to honey.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney liked the measure to armed conflict, telling reporters on Saturday, “You’re at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.” He said Canada would respond with “dollar for dollar” retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods beginning September 8.
Trump escalated the trade war Monday, announcing yet another round of tariffs on Canada, one of the United States’ largest trading partners and longtime allies.
“On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS.”
Also on Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unleashed a barrage of criticism against Trump. At a press conference, Ford called the Republican president a “bully,” a “dictator” and “the king of bankruptcies.” He also told Trump to “kiss my a**.”
Trump had earlier labeled Ford — the brother of the late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford — a blustering “flunky” who is “less charismatic” than his brother.
In addition to pursuing hostile trade policies toward Canada, President Trump has repeatedly called for the country to become the “51st state,” further straining relations with the longtime ally. Vice President JD Vance echoed the sentiment Monday during a speech in Maine, telling the crowd, “We have to remember Canada is a state — sorry, Freudian slip.”
Recent polls show that many Canadians now view their southern neighbor unfavorably, while a sizable share have boycotted U.S. goods and canceled trips to the U.S.
Trump, a longtime real estate mogul with an eye for branding, has previously taken an interest in renaming prominent geographic features.
Last year, he rebranded the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and restored Alaska’s Denali to its former name, Mount McKinley.