'Preposterous': Lawmakers Reject Trump's Renaming of Lake Ontario Amid U.S.-Canada Trade War

A map labelling Lake Ontario as "Lake America" is on display as President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug.

27, 2026. —Andrew Harnik—Getty Images Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Lake Ontario will continue to be called by that name despite President Donald Trump signing an Executive Order directing for it to be renamed as “Lake America.” “The name is more than 400 years old, pre-dating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” said Carney on Thursday.

“We know that America is changing.

Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms.” Insisting that Canadians are aware of the “naming reality,” Carney rejected Trump's directive for the lake, which borders the Canadian ‌province ⁠of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.

The name change is the latest jab in an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Canada after talks collapsed last week, leading to tariffs being imposed by both countries.

The order applies to U.S. federal references of the lake and does not determine how Canada—or others—refer to the body of water.

The “Lake Ontario” moniker has also firmly been rejected by many in the U.S., including New York’s Gov.

Kathy Hochul, who simply stated : “New York won’t be calling it that.” With tensions between the Trump Administration and Canada reaching new heights, here’s what to know about how lawmakers on both sides of the lake have responded to the Executive Order.

How Canadian lawmakers have reacted Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a vocal critic of the U.S.

President, insisted “it’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world, now and forever.” In agreement, Ontario lawmaker Marit Stiles said : “It will always be Lake Ontario.” Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, described the name change as “preposterous,” telling CNN: “We’re still going to call it Lake Ontario, I think many of you [Americans] will still call it Lake Ontario.” “The only person who is going to have a trouble with what to call it is your President,” Brown continued.

“If our Prime Minister wanted to rename the Mississippi, you’d probably get a chuckle out of it.

It’s having the same reaction in Canada.” Pierre Poilievre , Canada's main opposition leader, staunchly pushed back on Trump’s directive.

“Lake Ontario is and will always be Lake Ontario, and no Executive Order will change that.

It doesn't belong to President Donald Trump to rename on a whim,” he said .