Lake Ontario naming dispute
US–Canada geographic naming controversy since 2026
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Lake Ontario became the center of a geographical naming dispute in the United States and Canada when US president Donald Trump issued an executive order directing US federal agencies to refer to it as "Lake America". Issued on August 27, 2026, the executive order only requires the US executive branch to use this nomenclature. The order received widespread backlash from both US and Canadian government officials.[1][2]
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Background
Lake Ontario is the easternmost and smallest of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the US state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the center of the lake.
The name Ontario is derived from the Wendat (Huron) word Ontarí'io, which is often translated as "great lake",[3] but most often as "beautiful lake",[3][4] and other translations exist.[5]
On January 20, 2025, Trump ordered that federal agencies refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America".
Amid an ongoing trade war with Canada, Trump floated renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" on August 25, 2026, two days before his order, posting on Truth Social that "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" and a picture of Lake Ontario as "Lake America" on a map of the Great Lakes.[6]
A 1989 US–Canada agreement on the coordination of names for shared geographical features stated that it was "highly desirable to retain established official names" and that a name change could be considered "for purpose of conformance to strong local usage or citizen preference, or on special request with strong specific reasons".[7]
Presidential declaration
On August 27, 2026, Trump signed the executive order "Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America". The order justified that the name change was "to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the American people and the rich heritage of our history by naming great natural landmarks for our shared achievements",[8] and that the US "claims most of the lake's volume" and is "the greatest protector of the Great Lakes".[9] The order directs Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and the Board on Geographic Names to adopt the name "Lake America" for Lake Ontario in all executive-branch communications within 30 days of the order's signing.[10]
Reactions to declaration
United States
Governor of New York Kathy Hochul, Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Vermont Phil Scott, and Governor of Wisconsin Tony Evers denounced the order. Evers shared a video of himself renaming Lake Michigan "Lake Wisconsin" on a restaurant napkin.[2][11] Democrats in the House of Representatives, including Debbie Dingell and Tim Kennedy, planned legislation to reverse the order.[12]
Many Republicans in Upstate New York opposed the idea. Rob Corradino, the mayor of Oswego, said Trump's trade war with Canada was already hurting the local economy, and feared the name change would only exacerbate issues.[13] Polling has indicated that 71% of Americans, and 45% of Republicans nationally opposed the move, marking one of Trump's most unpopular decisions.[14]
The Seneca Nation also opposed Trump's renaming of the lake, stating "The president cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action. His order should be rescinded and the name Lake Ontario should be left as it is."[15]
Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke against the order, posting on X that "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always." Premier of Nova Scotia Tim Houston responded "We're into some real foolishness now. It's Lake Ontario, buddy."[2] Premier of Ontario Doug Ford responded "It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever."[16] The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation stated "You cannot rename away our history."[17]