Trump orders Lake Ontario to be renamed 'Lake America'

Trump orders Lake Ontario to be renamed 'Lake America'. AFP Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 11: 28pm.

Key points

• "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America, " the 80-year-old Republican remarked to journalists in the Oval Office.
• In his inauguration speech last January, Trump remarked the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America.
• The lake change, Lake of America, was something I've been thinking regarding for a long time, actually.
• So, if you think regarding it, we have a Gulf and we have a lake.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that he is renaming Lake Ontario – a substantial body of water shared by the United States and Canada – "Lake America".

Trump signed an order in the White House in a move that comes against the backdrop of a spiralling trade war between the world's largest economy and its northern neighbour.

"We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America, " the 80-year-old Republican remarked to journalists in the Oval Office. "The Canadian authorities have treated us highly badly. They're nasty individuals."

In practice, the name change – which Canada is unlikely to accept – mirrors Trump's changing of the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025.

"The lake change, Lake of America, was something I've been thinking regarding for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it, and now it's particularly routinely the Gulf of America, " Trump stated.

"So, if you think regarding it, 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. Maybe we'll change them both."

Meanwhile, a month afterwards, Google changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America" for those using its Maps platform inside the United States, complying with an executive order by Trump.

As is the case for other disputed locations, the tech giant wrote in a blog post that users outside the United States will continue to see both the original and new name for the Gulf of Mexico.

For now, trump orders Lake Ontario to be renamed ' Lake America&#039 remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.