Trump renames Lake Ontario as Lake America amid Canada trade war

Within hours of Trump's statement, the prime minister of Canada and the Democratic governor of New York State said they would not be changing the name, which is more than 400 years old. New York borders the lake on the US side.

"We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America," Trump Office. "The lake change, the Lake of America, was something I've been thinking about for a long time, actually.

"EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Lake Ontario is renamed to LAKE AMERICA!pic.twitter.com/ZFww8PexiW— The White House (@White. House)August 27, 2026Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed last week with each side blaming the other for derailing three days of intensive negotiations.

Facing the lowest public approval of his term, Trump -- who campaigned on a ⁠pledge to avoid starting new foreign wars and fight inflation -- is struggling to resolve both the trade war his administration initiated with Ottawa as well as the war the US and Israel began against Iran six months ago.

Both have played a role in driving up the cost of living for Americans. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the lake's name predates both Canada and the US as nations. "We know that America is changing.

Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms," Carney said on social media..@POTUS: "We have a Gulf and we have a Lake — now all we need is an ocean. Maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific.

Maybe we'll change them both. "https://t.co/Cj01PCOk. Smpic.twitter.com/Tz7v.

Gndw1S— Rapid Response 47 (@Rapid. Response47)August 27, 2026"Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always. "About 52% of the surface area of Lake Ontario is in Canada, with the remainder in New York.