Lake Ontario is now Lake America. Residents of Trump-voting Ontario have thoughts.

Serafino Rosso, a 41-year-old telecoms manager living in Ontario, expressed his patriotic delight at the recent renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The town, with its 10,000 residents, is located on the U.S. side of the lake and voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Rosso proposed renaming the town to "The Town of America: The Town of America on the Lake of America," believing it would evoke a sense of pride and patriotism.

However, not everyone shares his enthusiasm for the rebrand. Dave Rupp, who operates a liquidation store in town and voted for Trump in 2024, expressed his opposition to changing the lake's name, arguing that it would be disrespectful to the lake's long-standing history. Ontario has a rich history, originally named Freetown in 1807 in honor of its first settler, Freeman Hopkins, before being renamed Ontario in 1808 to reflect the lake that borders it to the north.

Despite the controversy, some residents hope that the tariffs Trump imposed on Canadian goods, including agricultural products, would benefit local farmers by reducing competition and offering a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, detractors view the renaming as a mere publicity stunt and a distraction from more pressing issues facing the Trump administration, such as the Epstein files and the war in Gaza.

The town's name change has also sparked discussions about the lake's indigenous roots, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noting that the lake's name comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big." The U.S. Interior Department has begun updating its geographic systems to reflect the new name, while Google Maps has updated its maps for U.S. users. However, Canadians will continue to refer to the lake as Lake Ontario.