Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” extending his practice of changing geographic names while tensions with Canada intensify over trade.
The order instructs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update federal maps, documents and databases to use the new name. The change applies to U.S. federal usage and does not require Canada, which shares the lake with New York, to recognize it.
Trump tied the decision directly to his complaints about Canada, accusing the longtime U.S. ally of taking advantage of the United States on trade and defense. The announcement follows the breakdown of bilateral trade negotiations and the imposition of new tariffs by both countries.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes and forms part of the international boundary between the United States and Canada. Canadian officials had already dismissed Trump’s proposal when he floated it earlier this week, saying Canadians would continue calling it Lake Ontario.
The move follows Trump’s 2025 order directing federal agencies to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico. During Thursday’s signing, Trump joked that the Atlantic or Pacific oceans could be next.
The White House said the Lake America designation is effective immediately for official U.S. federal use.
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