President Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America"

  • President Trump signed an executive order directing U.S. federal agencies to use "Lake America" for Lake Ontario.
  • The order gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 30 days to work with the Board on Geographic Names, while USGS electronic documents already use the new name.
  • Canadian leaders, New York officials and other critics reject the redesignation, which Canada and the wider world are not required to adopt.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing that Lake Ontario be redesignated "Lake America" in U.S. federal usage, presenting the change as effective immediately while giving the interior secretary 30 days to work with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers criticized the order and said Trump was being bullied by Canada amid the escalating trade dispute. The directive applies only to U.S. federal maps, records and communications and does not bind Canada, other countries, private entities or international bodies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and other Canadian leaders rejected the rename, while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. critics including Sen. Bernie Sanders also dismissed it. The move came after trade talks collapsed, with the United States imposing 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods and Canada preparing dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs, and follows Trump’s earlier Gulf of America and Mount McKinley redesignations.

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