Trump Threatens to Rename Lake Ontario as Spat With Canada Escalates -- WSJ

By Marianne LeVine

WASHINGTON-President Trump threatened to change the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America," in the latest escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Canada after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. is "giving serious consideration" to the name change because it doesn't expect to be "doing much business with Ontario any longer."

Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, spans the U.S.-Canada border. The northern portion of the lake is in Ontario and the southern portion is in New York. Canada likely wouldn't recognize a unilateral name change by the U.S.

Last year, Trump signed an executive order declaring that the Gulf of Mexico-which is bounded by the U.S., Mexico and Cuba-would be renamed the "Gulf of America." The name change, which applied to federal publications and communications, generally isn't recognized by other countries, including Mexico.

Trump said Monday that the U.S. would impose 50% tariffs on automobiles and parts from Canada starting in January, as relations between the two countries worsened amid a trade tit-for-tat.

After trade talks broke down over the weekend, Trump said the U.S. would impose separate 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would respond.

"Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so they can own us and I promised that that will never, ever happen," Carney said Saturday morning.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, repeatedly questioned Canada's independence as a country and threatened to make it the 51st state. Trump said over the weekend that Canada "wants the benefits of being a State, without being one."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2026 07:36 ET (11:36 GMT)