Arabic version: ترامب يأمر بإعادة تسمية بحيرة أونتاريو إلى بحيرة أمريكا

According to Cnbc, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that he said will “immediately” change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” The lake borders Ontario to the north and New York to the south.

Trump signed the order in the Oval Office after a breakdown in U.S.-Canada trade talks led to new retaliatory tariffs and worsening relations. A White House official said the order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System so the lake will be known as Lake America.

Canadian officials have said they will not recognize the name. Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X that Canadians would continue to call it Lake Ontario, “then, now and always.” Countries can use different names for the same geographical features.

The action is Trump’s second attempt to rename an international body of water for the United States. On the first day of his second term, he signed an order changing the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Lake Ontario’s name comes from the Iroquoian word “oniatarí:io,” meaning “lake of shining waters,” according to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.

The dispute coincides with a renewed trade war. Trump imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, and Canada announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. imports, set to take effect Sept. 8. Canada later said it would pare back some tariffs targeting seafood and fish products.