Trump renames Lake Ontario 'Lake America,' sparking US-Canada dispute

US President Donald Trump's decision to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' has sparked widespread controversy, especially amid ongoing trade tensions between the United States and Canada.

The lake straddles the border between Ontario province in Canada and New York state in the US, stretching approximately 193 miles in length.

Lake Ontario has a history spanning more than 400 years. Its name originates from the Haudenosaunee Indigenous peoples and means 'Lake of Shining Waters.'

The lake is a vital part of the Great Lakes system, with its waters flowing into the St. Lawrence River toward the Atlantic Ocean. Millions of people live on both sides of the border around the lake.

The US executive order enforces the new name for federal use and official US maps only, with no authority to impose it internationally or on the Canadian side.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has firmly rejected the new name, and the Governor of New York has also refused to adopt it.

President Trump signed the executive order last Thursday afternoon, officially changing the name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'—a move that further provokes Canada amid an intense trade dispute with the US's northern ally.

Speaking in the Oval Office, surrounded by large maps of the Great Lakes—one labeled 'Make the Great Lakes Greater' and showing 'Lake America' instead of Lake Ontario—Trump said the name change would take effect immediately.

Trump added: 'I've always thought of calling it Lake America. We have a bay and a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we'll have to rename the Atlantic and/or Pacific Ocean. Maybe we'll rename both.'