On Thursday, August 27, 2026, US President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Canada by signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America." The lake, which lies on the border between the United States and Canada, was targeted amid a worsening trade dispute between the two countries.

Trump announced the change to journalists at the White House, stating, "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America." This move followed the collapse of US-Canada trade talks the previous week, which led to both nations imposing retaliatory tariffs on each other.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney swiftly rejected the renaming, affirming that the body of water would be called Lake Ontario "then, now and always." Carney highlighted the lake's 400-year-old name, which predates both the United States and Canada, and noted its Indigenous origins meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big."

Carney's defiance of Trump's actions has garnered domestic support in Canada, with the Prime Minister earlier declaring that Ottawa was "at war" after being "attacked." Trump had indicated on Tuesday, August 25, that he was giving "serious consideration" to renaming the lake.

The dispute marks a significant escalation in the longstanding alliance between the US and Canada, with the renaming order symbolizing the heightened tensions amid ongoing trade disagreements.

Lake Ontario from Toronto Harbor
People look out across Lake Ontario from the harbor in Toronto, August 25, 2026. (Photo: AP/Keito Newman)

Sources