Trump orders Lake Ontario renamed 'Lake America' in US records
Why it matters: Canada rejected the change, and the order deepens a cross-border dispute already inflamed by new US tariffs.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the US government to recognize Lake Ontario as "Lake America," extending his push to relabel shared waterways after trade talks with Canada broke down. The order gives the Department of the Interior 30 days to update the Geographic Names Information Service, the federal database for domestic place names. Because the lake borders both countries, the change applies only to how the United States records and displays the name. Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move, saying the lake's name dates back more than 400 years and will remain Lake Ontario in Canada. The dispute follows new US tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods and Ottawa's plan for matching counter-tariffs next month.