Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the renaming of Lake Ontario as "Lake America" in U.S. federal records, with the change taking effect immediately, according to the White House.

The order instructs the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to implement the new designation. The change is expected to be reflected in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, which standardises geographic names for federal use.

Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes and is shared by the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. While the executive order applies to U.S. federal usage, Trump cannot compel Canada or other countries to adopt the new name.

The move comes amid sharply deteriorating relations between Washington and Ottawa, following the collapse of trade negotiations last week. The two governments blamed each other after three days of intensive talks failed to produce an agreement.

The renaming has been viewed as another symbolic escalation in the dispute between the neighbouring countries. Trump had previously indicated that he was considering the change, linking it to reduced trade with Ontario.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's office had not immediately commented on the executive order at the time of the announcement.

The decision follows Trump's earlier efforts to change geographic names, including his 2025 order directing U.S. federal agencies to use "Gulf of America" instead of the Gulf of Mexico. Such changes primarily affect U.S. federal usage and do not automatically alter internationally recognised names.