Ask Explore: Did Trump Really Rename Lake Ontario?
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Can Donald Trump actually rename Lake Ontario? I saw a video where he wants to call it Lake America. This wouldn’t be possible… would it?
– Puzzled Paddler, Toronto
Today, Thursday, August 27, Donald Trump signed his latest executive order. A presidential fiat, this one took aim at one of the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system on planet Earth. His decree? Changing Lake Ontario’s name to Lake America.
Trump had threatened the move a few days earlier, after Canada-U.S. trade talks fell apart at the eleventh hour. On August 25, he posted on Truth Social that “the United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.” The post sparked many, including Puzzled Paddler, to ask if he actually could do it. And, as this most recent order shows, he can.
Does Anyone Have to Listen to Him, Though?
Think back to the last time that Trump used an executive order to change a place name, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. While it did change how his government refers to the 1.5 million square kilometre Atlantic basin south of Texas, it didn’t change it for Mexico or the rest of the world. Because, as most of the rest of the planet understands, and the Associated Press style guide explained in late January 2025, “the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years.”
Trump also used an executive order to reverse Barack Obama’s decision to restore the Indigenous name Denali to North America’s highest peak. Trump’s order, signed in January 2025, restored the colonial name, Mount McKinley. But while some maps have changed the name, many Alaskans and climbers have ignored it. Jeff King, a four-time winner of the 1,609-kilometre Iditarod race who lives and works outside Denali National Park, told the Associated Press that, “I don’t know a single person that likes the idea.”
“Denali respects the Indigenous people that have been here and around Denali for tens of thousands of years,” he added. This sentiment was echoed by Conrad Anker, who told Outside that using Denali “was fitting to honour the people of Alaska with the rightful name.”
Ironically, although I’m nearly certain that Donald Trump doesn’t know this, Ontario is also an Indigenous name. It comes from Oniatarí:io, an Iroquoian word that translates to “lake of shining waters.” It’s not the only Great Lake that bears an Indigenous name. Lake Erie is named for the Erielhonan, an Indigenous group who lived along the lake’s southern shores, while Lake Huron bears the name that French colonists applied to the Wendat. Lake Michigan and the state it borders both trace their names to michigami, an Ojibwe word that translates to “really large body of water.” Only Lake Superior has a purely European name, dubbed “le Lac Superieur” by Frenchmen describing its position north of Lake Huron.
Lake Ontario is more than a geographical landmark though; it’s an outdoor playground for Canadians. Along its shores, hikers can explore everything from waterfront paths to forests, wetlands and river valleys, while paddlers can discover connected waterways in canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.
Clearly, none of this matters to the president. But most Canadians will probably just laugh and groan anytime they hear the name Lake America, because ever since Trump started spouting off about the 51st state, Canada has been gripped with a surge of national pride. American liquor was stripped from store shelves across most of the country. Travellers, including snow birds who had, for years, spent their winters in America’s warmer climes, started to boycott the United States. And even outdoor enthusiasts changed their plans to visit beloved American parks like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon after the Trump administration introduced a new levy on foreign visitors.
None of that seems likely to end soon. According to polling released by the Angus Reid Institute on August 23, more than three-quarters of Canadians backed Canada’s decision to walk away from trade negotiations with the United States. That’s a nearly unheard of level of political support for anything in this day and age.
What Does This New Name Actually Mean for Canadians?
As an investigative journalist and avid Canadian outdoor enthusiast, I’m worried that renaming a lake might be the least consequential part of Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada. Despite the overwhelming support for walking away from trade talks, 89 percent of the population is also worried about the impact that escalating tariffs will have on the cost of goods and services. While the most immediate effects may show up at gas pumps and grocery stores, we’ll also start to see impacts in the outdoor world. Gear and clothing companies have already felt the squeeze because of existing tariffs on raw materials. Many of them are already passing that along to consumers, like Black Diamond, which made news in 2025 when they announced that their prices would increase by 15 to 25 percent.
“Tariffs have dramatically increased the cost of producing our gear—by more than double in some cases,” a statement from the brand explained. “We’ve absorbed as much of this impact as we can, but to continue delivering the high-performance equipment you count on, a price adjustment has become necessary.”
Still, it’s unlikely that price increases or other threats will break Canadians’ resolve. Because, Puzzled Paddler, while our cultures vary wildly in every corner of this country, at least two things cut across both regional and political divides. The first is that we’re not Americans. The second is our love for the outdoors. Trying to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America hits both of those deeply entrenched Canadian values.
He can call it Lake Trump for all we care. It isn’t. For us, it will always be Lake Ontario.
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