Trump Proposes Renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America Amid 50% Tariff War With Canada

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is considering renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, citing expectations of reduced business with Ontario. The comment came as the U.S.-Canada trade war intensified, with the Trump administration imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend. Canada struck back the same day with retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy, appliances, and farm equipment, marking a sharp escalation between two of the world’s largest trading partners.

Why Trump wants to rename Lake Ontario

Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. is giving serious consideration to changing Lake Ontario’s name to Lake America because it does not expect to do much business with Ontario any longer. The move mirrors Trump’s 2025 executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Lake Ontario borders both Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and home to the country’s auto industry, and New York State.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs hit everyday goods

Canada imposed tariffs on about $20 billion of American goods on August 25, including steel, dairy products, appliances, farm equipment, seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics, and toilet paper. Some tariffs reached 50%. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada did not choose the conflict but needed to stand up when economic integration was used as a weapon. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Canadians to buy Canadian goods to protect jobs.

Ontario’s leverage in the trade fight

Ontario has already removed American alcohol from provincial liquor store shelves since March 2025, a move that devastated U.S. alcohol exports to Canada. Premier Doug Ford has threatened to suspend electricity exports to the U.S., which supply 1.5 million customers in Michigan, New York, and Minnesota. Anna Esselment, associate professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, told CBC News that the alcohol ban has proven the most effective tactic, with a devastating effect that became a major asset in Canadian negotiations.

American citizens in border town criticize Trump

TVA Nouvelles journalist Yves Poirier visited downtown Plattsburgh, New York, a city of about 20,000 residents near Quebec, and found residents sharply critical of Trump’s rhetoric. Citizens said they were ashamed of their president and found his proposal to rename Lake Ontario absolutely ridiculous. One woman noted that Canada and the U.S. have always gotten along well and ironically suggested Trump might call it Lake Donald Trump instead.

Final Thoughts

The Lake Ontario rename proposal underscores how far rhetoric has escalated in the trade dispute. With $20 billion in mutual tariffs now in place and Ontario threatening electricity cuts, the dispute threatens one of the world’s largest trading relationships and could raise costs for businesses and consumers on both sides of the border.

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