President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he exacerbates his trade war with Canada.
The Republican president signed an executive order that updated the lake’s name for the US geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.
The move is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.’”
Trump, who signed the order as he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, had a large sign behind him propped on a stand with a map of the Great Lakes. Over Lake Ontario, in big red letters, the map read “Lake America.”
He told reporters that Canada is “the worst” to deal with on trade. “They feel entitled and we can’t have that,” he said.
The president has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the US announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down.
Trump has been needling America’s northern neighbor since he returned to the White House last year, suggesting the ally with whom the US once had warm relations should instead be absorbed as the 51st state.
