Donald Trump says, ‘maybe I wasn’t’ kidding about threat to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’
Donald Trump is standing by his proposal to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” saying Wednesday that he may not have been joking, as trade tensions with Canada persist.
“You saw the Lake Ontario thing. People thought I was kidding, maybe I wasn’t,” Trump said during an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s radio show.
Trump compares Lake Ontario to Gulf of America
Trump compared this proposal to his 2025 presidential proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
“The last one you saw was the Gulf of Mexico is Gulf of America. Now, we have a gulf and we have a lake. It’s very simple,” he said.
Trump first proposed renaming Lake Ontario on Truth Social on August 25, stating the U.S. was giving “serious consideration” to the idea. He also shared a map with “Lake America” written across the body of water.
Trump links the name change to Canada tariffs
Trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada stalled last week.
Trump imposed 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to respond with tariffs on U.S. exports. Trump has also threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian automobiles and auto parts from 25% to 50%.
During the Beck interview, Trump defended the tariffs and accused Canada of exploiting the United States.
“They charge tariffs, they take advantage of us as though they were a state, and they’re not a state. And they’ve taken our car industry, and they’ve taken our agriculture industry,” Trump said.
Trump added that Canada does not “have anything that we have to have. We can get by.”
Can Trump actually rename Lake Ontario?
Lake Ontario borders New York and Ontario province in Canada. A U.S. decision to rename the lake would not automatically affect its name in Canada or internationally.
In the United States, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names handles geographic naming decisions and oversees the federal process for changing official place names. The board acted on Trump’s 2025 order concerning the Gulf of Mexico.
Lake Ontario’s name dates back centuries and comes from an Indigenous term meaning “lake of shining waters.”
Canada says it will keep the name
Canadian officials have already rejected Trump’s proposal and have clearly stated their position.
“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario. Period. We’re proud of our Great Lakes,” Canada’s Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters.
“We’ve navigated the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, for thousands of years, and it was part of a foundation of our country. And we’ll just stand up for what we have. And meanwhile, I really think that while all these shenanigans are happening, we’ll just be smart and we’ll be strategic and we’ll fight back,” she added.