Mark Carney dismisses Donald Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’
The U.S. president signed an executive order renaming the lake after trade talks collapsed and as Canada pledges counter-tariffs on American imports.
“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big’,” Carney posted on social media.
“The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul bluntly dissed Trump’s move on X: “New York won’t be calling it that.”
Premier Doug Ford likewise posted: “It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”
Trump signed an executive order Thursday that he said changed the Great Lake’s name to “Lake America,” making good on a threat after the collapse of trade talks and in retaliation for Canada launching a new round of counter-tariffs against American products.
His move came on a day when Canada walked back its proposed 25 per cent levies on American seafood and fish and swapped in 50 per cent tariffs on some copper and construction materials, even as some analysts said Canada’s plan does not match the impact of the Trump tariffs.
Impactful or not, Canada’s retaliation has infuriated Trump, whose White House posted the name change on social media, prompting a wave of bemused and amused scorn in Canada.
His move came on a day when Canada walked back its proposed 25 per cent levies on American seafood and fish and swapped in 50 per cent tariffs on some copper and construction materials, even as some analysts said Canada’s plan does not match the impact of the Trump tariffs.
Impactful or not, Canada’s retaliation has infuriated Trump, whose White House posted the name change on social media, prompting a wave of bemused and amused scorn in Canada.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that Canada is “the worst to deal with on trade,” and complained about its political leadership.
“Maybe they’ll change. I really don’t know. It doesn’t make much difference. But we can’t let the whole Canadian thing has been going on for decades, and it has to come to a stop,” Trump said as he brandished his executive order renaming Lake Ontario.
“They want to be treated like a state but they’re not a state.”
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