Trump threatens to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America

Washington: US President Donald Trump expressed on Tuesday his consideration of renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America amid the escalating trade war with Canada. This proposal, backed by a map highlighting the new name, echoed a similar action taken last year when Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The tension heightened when Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods following the breakdown of trade talks on Friday.

Trump stated on his Truth Social network, "We don't expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer." Lake Ontario, part of the Great Lakes system, sits between Canada and the United States, bordering both the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York. Toronto, Canada's largest city, is located on the lake's northwestern shore.

Later, Trump shared a map with "Lake Ontario" crossed out and replaced with "Lake America" in large gold font, which resonated among pro-Trump social media accounts. The territorial claim follows Trump's ongoing push for Canada to become the 51st US state and the intensifying trade conflict between the two nations. This move also underscores a personal dispute with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who accused Trump of insulting him and threatened a surcharge on exported electricity.

During his second presidency, Trump has provoked several allies with his ambitious territorial assertions. Mexico has refused to accept his order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America on his first day in office on January 20.