President Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. CNBC headlined it "Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America' amid Canada trade war". BBC News headlined it "Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America".
The order pointed to American spending on Great Lakes shipping and environmental protection as justification. "The order said the U.S. Coast Guard supplies nine of the 11 ice-breaking vessels on the Great Lakes, securing commercial shipping lanes free of charge. The U.S. has also invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada "1has invested far less in similar initiatives over the same period."", Fox News reported.
Accounts of how the lake itself is divided between the two countries varied. Axios reported: "Roughly 47% of the lake that straddles the border with the Canadian province of Ontario lies within the U.S."2 The Washington Times reported: "The lake\u2019s surface area is split nearly evenly \u2014 52% Canada and 48% U.S. But White House staff secretary Ben Moss said most of the lake\u2019s volume is in the American half and its deepest parts are on the U.S. side."3
Canadian officials rejected the renaming, and New York's governor also pushed back publicly. Fox News headlined it "New York Gov Hochul rejects Trump's 'Lake America' renaming with blunt message".
An Indigenous leader objected as well, arguing the change disregarded the name's roots and calling for the order to be withdrawn. "Calling Trump's order "unpresidential," President J. Conrad Seneca on Friday wrote, "1The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action. His order should be rescinded, and the name Lake Ontario should be left as it is, reflective of the Seneca people, other Haudenosaunee nations and all Indigenous people surrounding the lake."", Fox News wrote.
Some technology companies adjusted their map listings to reflect the new name. Mother Jones headlined it "Google’s Obedience to Trump’s “Lake America” Order Follows a Depressing Pattern".
Polling reported after the order found substantial public opposition to the renaming. Axios reported: "Reuters-Ipsos polling from late August found that more than six in 10 (63%) of Americans oppose Trump's executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to rename the lake, which straddles the U.S.\u2013Canada border."2
Commentary noted the episode arrived alongside other pressing issues facing the president. "Ignore Iran, the Epstein files, and your wallet \u2014 not to mention Trump\u2019s plummeting approval ratings"4, The Guardian wrote.
