Trump Signs Order to Rename Lake Ontario to Lake America

The latest salvo in the ongoing trade dispute between the US and Canada has come in the form of an executive order from President Trump, seeking to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. This appears to be a petty gesture, a provocative renaming of a shared body of water that has been a point of contention between the two nations for centuries.

However, scratch beneath the surface, and it’s clear that this name change reflects a deeper dynamic at play in international relations – one where economic power is increasingly being used as a cudgel to impose will on others. The impetus for this move can be seen as a direct response to Canada’s “dollar for dollar” counter tariffs, imposed in retaliation for the US’s own 50% tariffs on $20bn worth of Canadian goods.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to rename Lake Ontario on social media, and this latest order is the culmination of those efforts. This isn’t just a move against Canada – it’s also an attempt to rewrite the map itself. The history of naming international waters is complex and contentious, with no universally recognized body setting the names for these shared bodies.

The US president has broad discretion over how his country officially recognizes landmarks, but other countries don’t have to follow suit. This has led to a patchwork of different names for the same waterways – as seen in the case of the Gulf of Mexico, which is now listed as both “Gulf of America” and “Gulf of Mexico” on Google Maps depending on where you are in the world.

Trump’s order directs the US Department of the Interior to update the Geographic Names Information Service (GNIS) to reflect the name change. However, Canada has already made it clear that they won’t be recognizing this new name, with Industry Minister Melanie Joly dismissing the idea as “Lake Ontario will always be Lake Ontario.”

This move reflects a fundamental tension between economic power and international law. The US’s attempts to impose its own names on shared bodies of water are a symptom of a broader desire to exert control over global geography – to remake the map in America’s image, so to speak. This isn’t just about naming lakes; it’s about asserting dominance.

The US has a long history of using economic coercion to shape international relations. The Gulf of Mexico renaming last year was a precursor to this move – and it’s clear that the US is using its economic muscle to try and impose its will on others. This has implications far beyond just geography, however.

As Canada’s Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc noted in his post, there may be room for a return to the negotiating table sometime soon. However, what this episode highlights is that trade disputes can have far-reaching consequences – not just economically, but also geopolitically. It’s a reminder that economic power is increasingly being used as a tool of statecraft, and that international relations are becoming more contested than ever.

The implications of this move will reverberate for years to come, regardless of whether or not the name change takes effect.