Trump…AGAIN: 1)Who gets to name a lake? What to know about Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario; 2)Trump threatens to change name of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America; 3)Trump takes aim at Canadian energy flowing through U.S. in latest post
1) & 2)Who gets to name a lake? What to know about Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario – Part 2: he did it
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
Part Two: By Elissa Mendes, August 27, 2026
The name of one of the Great Lakes has become the latest target of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ire after trade talks with Canada broke down less than a week ago.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The move came two days after he said on his social media platform Truth Social he was “giving serious consideration” to the idea.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Trump exchanged personal insults over the tariff war earlier in the week.
Here’s some more background about Trump’s penchant for geographic name changes.
WHY DOES TRUMP WANT TO RENAME LAKE ONTARIO?
The threat to rename the Great Lake that borders Ontario and New York came right after Ford and Trump targeted one another with insults.
The premier called Trump a bully and told him to “kiss my ass,” and the president retaliated by saying Ford is a less charismatic version of his late brother, the controversial former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Trump repeatedly posted about Canada on Tuesday, repeating claims that the country was “ripping off” the United States.
The president added that his country doesn’t expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer.”
He also posted an image of a map of Lake Ontario with its name crossed out and replaced with Lake America.
Ford has since toned down his language, instead encouraging both sides to reach a deal, though he said he doesn’t regret his words because they resonated around the world.
HOW DID LAKE ONTARIO GET ITS NAME?
The name is older than Canada itself.
Historians believe Lake Ontario’s name has Iroquoian roots meaning “beautiful lake” or “sparkling water,” according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Europeans began calling the lake “Ontario” in 1641, the encyclopedia entry says, and by 1656 the name was appearing on maps.
The province of Ontario is named after the lake.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NAMING CANADIAN LAKES?
The Geographical Names Board of Canada formed in 1897, and its members have approved more than 350,000 place names over the course of its existence.
People and organizations can propose new names for Canadian geography.
To put in a request, the naming board needs information including reasons for the suggested name change, the origin and meaning of the name, contact information for local residents who can verify how the space is used and photos or sketches.
Canada does not have to recognize name changes made by other countries.
Even if Trump succeeds in renaming Lake Ontario on the U.S. side, he can’t dictate what the rest of the world calls it.
WHAT OTHER PLACES HAS TRUMP RENAMED – OR TRIED TO?
One of Trump’s first moves after his inauguration in January 2025 was signing an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name for more than 400 years, and Trump’s order only holds water in the United States.
Trump also signed an executive order to change the name of North America’s tallest peak back to Mount McKinley.
Former president Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015, the preference of local residents and Indigenous Peoples.
But Trump said in his executive order that he wanted to “restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
2)Trump threatens to change name of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’:
By Elissa Mendes, August 25, 2026
One of the Great Lakes has become the latest target in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, highlighting his penchant for renaming bodies of water and landmarks.
The United States is “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on his platform Truth Social, a day after he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford traded personal insults over tariffs.
The president added that his country doesn’t expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer,” and in a separate post accused Prime Minster Mark Carney of lying about how trade negotiations unfolded.
After trade negotiations fell apart last week, the Trump administration slammed Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on an array of goods.
Ottawa unveiled its response to those duties Tuesday, which includes upping tariffs on American steel and aluminum products from 25 to 50 per cent, and tariffs up to 50 per cent on hundreds of other goods.
Here’s what preceded Trump’s “Lake America” musing and how his other renaming efforts have panned out.
WHY DOES TRUMP WANT TO RENAME LAKE ONTARIO?
The threat to rename the Great Lake that borders Ontario and New York came right after Ford and Trump targeted one another with insults.
The premier called Trump a bully and told him to “kiss my ass,” and the president retaliated by saying Ford is a less charismatic version of his late brother, the controversial former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Trump repeatedly posted about Canada on Tuesday, repeating claims that the country was “ripping off” the United States.
He also posted an image of a map of Lake Ontario with its name crossed out and replaced with Lake America.
HOW DID LAKE ONTARIO GET ITS NAME?
The name is older than Canada itself.
Historians believe Lake Ontario’s name has Iroquoian roots meaning “beautiful lake” or “sparkling water,” according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Europeans began calling the lake “Ontario” in 1641, the encyclopedia entry says, and by 1656 the name was appearing on maps.
The province of Ontario is named after the lake.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NAMING CANADIAN LAKES?
The Geographical Names Board of Canada formed in 1897, and its members have approved more than 350,000 place names over the course of its existence.
People and organizations can propose new names for Canadian geography.
To put in a request, the naming board needs information including reasons for the suggested name change, the origin and meaning of the name, contact information for local residents who can verify how the space is used and photos or sketches.
Canada does not have to recognize name changes made by other countries.
Even if Trump succeeds in renaming Lake Ontario on the U.S. side, he can’t dictate what the rest of the world calls it.
WHAT OTHER PLACES HAS TRUMP RENAMED – OR TRIED TO?
One of Trump’s first moves after his inauguration in January 2025 was signing an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name for more than 400 years, and Trump’s order only holds water in the United States.
Trump also signed an executive order to change the name of North America’s tallest peak back to Mount McKinley.
Former president Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015, the preference of local residents and Indigenous Peoples.
But Trump said in his executive order that he wanted to “restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley.”
— With files from The Associated Press
Courtesy Barrie360.com andCanadian Press
By Canadian Press Staff, August 25, 2026
President Donald Trump continued his war of words on Canada Tuesday, first insisting the United States is “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America and then accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of lying.
In a post on social media today, Trump says the U.S. does not expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer.”
The president followed it up with another post that he would never interfere with Canadians speaking French and never tried to weaken language protections as part of trade talks, calling Carney weak and unpopular.
Carney’s approval rating has been between 50 and 60 per cent over the summer, according to several different polls, while Trump’s approval rating in the U.S. is around 33 per cent, the lowest it has been across both his terms as president.
An Angus Reid poll taken over the weekend found broad support for the Canadian government’s decision to walk away from trade talks under the terms the U.S. offered. The online survey, which can’t be given a margin of error, found 76 per cent of Canadian respondents, and 85 per cent of Quebecers, believed Canada walking away was the right choice.
Trump was back it again Tuesday.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” he wrote.
He then disputed Carney’s assertion that the U.S. had gone after Canada’s French language protections in the recent trade talks.
“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” Trump posted, dismissing accusations that his administration sought to infringe on French language and culture in trade negotiations.
Carney said Saturday that U.S. negotiators had tried to secure measures which would have reduced the discoverability of French content online.
”I have never thought of doing such a stupid thing,” Trump continued.
”This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec. I love French Canadians!”
Last spring the U.S. annual report on trade concerns with other countries identified Quebec’s Bill 109 as an issue, which requires online streaming companies to make sure French content is available and promoted on their sites.
Trump’s latest tirades come after trade talks were suspended on Friday as Canada accused the U.S. of making unacceptable, last-minute demands to a deal agreed upon days earlier.
The U.S. imposed new tariffs on Canada on Saturday and Carney’s cabinet is set to announce Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on Tuesday.
3)Trump takes aim at Canadian energy flowing through U.S. in latest post
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By The Canadian Press, August 24, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump is taking aim at Canadian energy flowing through the United States in another escalation of his trade war with Canada.
In a post on his Truth Social account Trump warns of “consequences” if Canadian officials didn’t “fall in line.”
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The post specifically calls out Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who earlier in the day told an Ontario radio talk show program that Trump could “kiss my ass” and said Ontario should leverage energy and critical minerals in trade negotiations.
Canada has a number of oil and gas lines which flow from Western Canada into Minnesota and Wisconsin, to serve markets in southern Ontario and Quebec.
Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged during the last federal election campaign that having western Canadian oil flow through the United States to Ontario and Quebec presented a national security threat, but the government hasn’t publicly announced plans to remedy that.
Trump also took a personal shot at Ford in his post, referencing his late brother former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.