As he continues his trade war with Canada, President Trump claims the US is considering renaming one of the Great Lakes because of the conflict.
Videos by Suggest
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer,” he wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Hours after Trump’s remark, the official White House X account posted a Lego-style map of the United States that labeled the lake bordering New York as “Lake America.”
The threat came nearly two years after Trump announced the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
“America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth,” the world leader stated during his second inauguration in January 2025. “Inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.”
Canada Responds to Potential Lake Ontario Renaming
Following President Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario, Minister of Industry of Canada, Mélanie Joly, responded to the world leader.
“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario,” Joly stated while talking to reporters. “We’re proud of the Great Lakes, and we’ll stand up for what we have. I really think that, with all these shenanigans happening, we’ll just be smart and we’ll be strategic, and we’ll fight back.”
Derek Alderman, a cultural and historical geographer, also told Newsweek, “It is quite possible that Canadians could see the appropriation of Lake Ontario and its renaming as part of the larger effort on the part of the US to exert its influence territorially.”
Meanwhile, Reuben Rose-Redwood, Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria, called President Trump’s threat “pure rage bait.” He also called it a “well-worn move from the Trump playbook akin to calling Canada the ’51st State’ or renaming the Gulf of Mexico to capture media attention.”
“Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario is pure rage bait aimed at stoking anger among Canadians while distracting Americans from the fact that Trump overplayed his hand in the trade negotiations with Canada,” Rose-Redwood stated.