Adedokun Waliyu 
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America Thursday.
In the Oval Office, Trump said the order directs Secretary Doug Burgum and the Department of the Interior to update the Geographic Names
Information Service, the federal body responsible for naming natural features.
“We filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else. We notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So we’ve done everything, that you have to do, and this is official,” the U.S. president said.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters after signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America,’ saying Canada has been the ‘worst’ country to trade with.
Trump initially threatened Tuesday to rename Lake Ontario as the trade war between Canada and the U.S. escalates, sparking outrage on both sides of the border.
The name change is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
“We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean so maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific,” Trump said, referring to the bodies of water on either side of the U.S. coastline.
Despite the executive order, the president can’t actually unilaterally rename the bi-national lake as it’s governed jointly by Canada and the U.S.
The name “Lake Ontario” is recognized internationally, appears in federal legislation on both sides of the border, and is embedded in treaties dating back more than a century.
The Province of Ontario was named for the lake when it was created in 1867 at Confederation. The lake’s name predates Canada, predates the United States, and predates European settlement entirely.
This latest tactic from Trump comes amid a busy week of back-and-forth between the two countries after trade talks broke down late Friday and 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian exports went into effect.
Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. of trying to introduce last-minute demands which would limit Canada’s ability to make trade deals with other countries and protect its culture and sovereignty.
A war of words was also launched Monday after Ontario Premier Doug Ford told Trump to “kiss [his] ass.” Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts, later called Ford a “flunky” and compared him unfavourably to his deceased brother and former Toronto mayor, Rob Ford.
Canada later introduced dollar-for-dollar retailitory tariffs, set to come into effect on Sept. 8.
