Trump's 'Lake America' Decree Sparks Outrage: 'We're Entering Real Absurdity'

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America,' a move widely seen as a new escalation in the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and Canada. The decree, signed at the White House, follows a breakdown in trade talks and the imposition of significant tariffs by both nations.

Trump's decision, announced during an escalating conflict with Canada, involves imposing a 50 percent import tariff on Canadian exports valued at $20 billion annually. Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs of equal value, set to take effect on September 8. Trump's rhetoric has included labeling Canada as having "ripped us off for a long time" and calling Canadians "nasty people."

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Canada has ripped us off for a long time. They are nasty people.

The renaming initiative has drawn widespread criticism and ridicule. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada calls things by their names and will continue to refer to the body of water as Lake Ontario. He emphasized that Canadians recognize reality, including the lake's name, which has been in use for centuries and derives from the Wendat people's word 'Ontari'io.'

This action echoes a previous instance where Trump attempted to rename the Gulf of Mexico 'Gulf of America,' a change not recognized by Mexico or other nations. While tech companies and pro-Trump media outlets may adopt the new name in the U.S., Canada and other international bodies are unlikely to follow suit. Indigenous representatives in Canada have also rejected the renaming, calling for their culture not to be undermined as part of trade disputes.

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We know America is changing. Their trade relations, their foreign policy, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means we call it Lake Ontario – then, now, and always.