Trump threatens to change name of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’

Tensions between the two countries have continued to worsen since trade negotiations fell apart on Friday. The Trump administration slammed Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on an array of goods the following day.

The federal government unveiled its response to those duties Tuesday, which includes upping tariffs on American steel and aluminum products from 25 to 50 per cent.

The government will also impose tariffs ranging from 15 to 50 per cent on hundreds of other U.S. exports, including clothing and apparel, appliances, dairy products and seafood.

Carney said Saturday that U.S. negotiators brought in unacceptable last-minute changes to the agreement, including measures which would have reduced the discoverability of French content online.

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.

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 repeatedly posted about Canada Tuesday, repeating claims that Canada was “ripping off” the United States and posting an image of a map of Lake Ontario with the name crossed out and replaced with Lake America.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra shared a post on social media from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum which said “Making the Great Lakes Even Greater,” with an image of the region with the “Lake America” label.

On Monday, Trump specifically targeted Doug Ford after the Ontario premier had choice words for the president.

The two exchanged insults with Ford calling the president a bully, among other things, and Trump saying the premier was a “less charismatic, intelligent” version of his late brother, Rob.

Ford told CNN on Tuesday that things “got a little heated” between him and Trump but said he wants to make a deal that benefits Canada and the United States.

“It’s time to get back to the table,” he said. “Let’s negotiate a fair deal.”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne would not bite when asked about the war of words between Trump and Ford, saying he has been engaging with the Trump administration for a long time.

“One thing I have learned is not to comment on every remark that is being made on either side of the border,” he said.

Industry Minister Melanie Joly, when asked about Trump’s lake, threw up her hands and shook her head.

“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario,” she said. “While all these shenanigans are happening, we’ll just be smart, we’ll be strategic, and we’ll fight back.”

Trump’s post about changing the name of Lake Ontario doesn’t come without precedent. On the day of his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The geographic controversy led to the White House removing The Associated Press from certain duties covering the president after the news service did not use “Gulf of America” in its reporting.

The Associated Press took the White House to court in a dust-up that led to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ripping many authorities away from the White House Correspondents’ Association, the organization of journalists who cover the president.

Lake Ontario — one of the five Great Lakes — is located between Ontario and New York. The Canadian province is named after the lake.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, responded to Trump’s post about the lake saying on social media that “with American troops being killed and injured overseas, and our families and businesses paying more for everything because of idiotic tariffs and wars, this is what Dear Leader is fixated on!”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2026.

— With files from Nick Murray and Craig Lord in Ottawa

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Trump threatens to change name of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’

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