Trump ‘giving serious consideration’ to renaming Lake Ontario as Canada trade war deepens
Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that he is considering renaming Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ as the US trade war with Canada escalates.
‘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,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
Lake Ontario straddles the border, with New York along its southern and eastern shores and the Canadian province of Ontario to the north.
It is is not controlled outright by either Canada or the US and has instead been jointly managed under the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty for more than a century.
Trump could order US federal agencies to call it ‘Lake America,’ but Canada would not be required to recognize the new name.
The move would be a pointed insult to Ottawa because it would strip the name of Canada’s most populous province from a shared landmark and recast it as exclusively American.
The fight exploded over the weekend after trade talks collapsed and Washington slapped 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.
Canada hit back with plans for matching tariffs on American steel, electronics and other products as Trump threatened additional 50 percent levies on Canadian-made vehicles and auto parts.
Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that he is considering renaming Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ as the US trade war with Canada escalates
Trump welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the White House
Aerial view of Lake Ontario which is jointly shared by the US and Canada
The move would be a pointed insult to Ottawa because it would strip the name of Canada’s most populous province from a shared landmark and recast it as exclusively American
Minutes after his threat to rename the lake, Trump sent out another post on Truth Social: ‘I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French! In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing.’
‘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!’
Carney previously claimed the US had made ‘threats’ and demands targeting French-language protections and Quebec culture during tariff negotiations.
Since the collapse of negotiations, Trump has continued to warn Canadian leaders to ‘fall in line’ or face consequences ‘far WORSE’ than existing tariffs.
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and three other Cabinet ministers are expected to unveil aid for workers caught in the tariff fight to help alleviate the economic strain.
Carney withdrew from negotiations with Trump just hours before the president’s 50 percent tariffs on $20billion worth of Canadian goods were due to take effect.
Both leaders have traded shots with Carney suggesting that Canada has to fight back against Trump.
‘You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,’ he told Canadians. ‘We’re going to hit back.’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford (pictured) has told Donald Trump to ‘kiss my a**’ and threatened to cut off America’s electricity supply in response to the President’s latest tariffs
Trump lashed out Monday and declared Canada will ‘no longer’ be treated so kindly.
‘Canada has been ripping off the United States for years,’ Trump said in a Truth Social post.
‘On trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst nations in the world to deal with. They feel entitled and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!’
