Trump Says He Will Rename Lake Ontario to Lake America

[Financial News]  

On the 25th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he could rename Lake Ontario, which lies between the United States and Canada, to "Lake America."
In a post on Truth Social that day, Trump said, "I don't think we will be doing much more business with Ontario," adding, "I am seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America."
Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes and sits between Ontario, Canada, and New York State. It also serves as part of the border between the two countries.
The move appears to be a provocation after Ontario took the lead in the trade dispute between the United States and Canada.
However, changing a place name in the United States is not something that can be completed by presidential executive order alone. Approval from the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN), a federal agency, is required. Still, Trump’s threat is not empty, since he can pressure federal agencies and influence the BGN’s approval process.
According to AP, Trump posted on social media that he was considering changing the lake’s name just hours before Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods.
Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has frequently changed place names.
On Inauguration Day last year, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. It was one of his 2024 campaign pledges.
Although he changed the name of the body of water shared by Mexico and the United States, Mexico, along with many other countries and international organizations, continues to use the name Gulf of Mexico.
That same day, Trump restored Alaska's Denali to Mount McKinley. The mountain had previously been renamed from Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015 under President Barack Obama, citing the historical name given by Alaska Natives and the preference of many residents. Trump later changed it back to McKinley, saying he was honoring a "great president" and restoring the name of the 25th U.S. president.


[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter