Trump weighs renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' amid escalating trade war

Amid escalating trade tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States is considering renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America." Trump stated on social media that the U.S. does not expect to conduct much business with Ontario in the future, justifying the potential name change.

Trump launched a series of criticisms against Canada, alleging the country has "ripped off the US for decades." He claimed Canada charges U.S. farmers excessive tariffs, drives companies out of business, and causes the U.S. to lose an average of $60 billion annually. The president posted an image on social media depicting a map with "Lake Ontario" crossed out and "Lake America" written in gold letters.

This move comes after a prolonged tariff war between the two North American neighbors. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently indicated that while progress had been made in trade talks, significant work remained. In response to U.S. duties, Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. annual imports, set to take effect September 8. These tariffs will apply to around 700 American products, with duties up to 50%.

Meanwhile, Trump's own 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian imports became effective Saturday following failed trade talks. Lake Ontario, which borders both Canada and the U.S., is geographically significant, with about 53% of its area belonging to Canada. This is not the first time the Trump administration has proposed renaming a body of water; last year, the Interior Department announced the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the "Gulf of America."

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The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to do much business with Ontario any longer.