US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” in another move likely to fuel tensions between the United States and Canada.
Trump signed the order on Thursday at the Oval Office, surrounded by maps of the Great Lakes.
Speaking after signing the order, Trump said the new name was effective immediately, claiming that his administration had completed the necessary paperwork.
“Lake of America” was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Trump said.
He joked that the US could also consider renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Trump linked the decision to his ongoing dispute with Canada, accusing Canadian officials of treating the US unfairly, particularly on trade.
“The Canadian officials have treated us very badly,” he said, describing Canada as difficult to deal with on trade.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Ottawa over trade and tariffs.
The White House also argued that most of Lake Ontario’s volume and its deepest sections are within US territory.
The announcement is expected to draw a response from Canadian authorities, as Lake Ontario is shared by the United States and Canada.
