Trump orders Lake Ontario renamed 'Lake America' in US records
What's new: The order gives the Interior Department 30 days to change federal naming records, but Canada rejected the move.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Interior Department to change Lake Ontario to “Lake America” in U.S. geographic naming records, escalating his standoff with Canada during a widening trade fight. The move follows new U.S. tariffs of 50% on $20 billion of Canadian goods after talks broke down, and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of American products including steel, dairy, appliances and farm equipment. Trump cannot compel Canada to adopt the new name. Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the change, saying Lake Ontario’s name predates both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence and is rooted in an Indigenous word meaning “lake of shining waters.”