Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order rechristening Lake Ontario as Lake America. The order takes effect immediately and grants the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the name change in the Geographic Names Information Service. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed that "things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario - today and forever."

The name "Lake Ontario" has a history stretching back over 400 years, predating both the formation of Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence. This is not the first time Trump has renamed a body of water; in 2025 he changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, leading to a legal dispute with Mexico and prompting a lawsuit from the Associated Press.

Canadian officials have dismissed the move, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford stating "It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever." Democratic lawmakers in the US have vowed to introduce legislation to nullify the name change.