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United States (US) President Donald Trump has announced plans to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” escalating his dispute with Canada.
Trump announced the change on Thursday at the White House, saying it would take effect immediately.
“We’re going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump criticised Canadian officials, saying, “The Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people.”
The announcement comes during an escalating trade dispute between the United States and Canada.
Trump said the decision followed his earlier move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in January 2025.
“The lake change, Lake of America, was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually,” he said.
Trump said the United States could also consider renaming other major bodies of water.
“So, if you think about it, we have a Gulf and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean,” he said.
“So, maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”
Lake Ontario is shared by the United States and Canada, meaning the proposed name change is unlikely to be accepted by Canadian authorities.
