Trump Signed an Order Renaming Lake Ontario 'Lake America.' New York's Governor Says the State Won't Use It.

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," following through on a threat he floated on social media earlier in the week. "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America," he said in the Oval Office before signing.

The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update the Geographic Names Information System, the federal database maintained with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names that standardizes place names for federal use. Trump later posted a letter from the director of the U.S. Geological Survey confirming the change had been made and that it "will begin occurring in printed documents over the next several days." The president cannot compel other countries, international bodies, or private companies to adopt the name — only the federal government.

The move landed in the middle of an escalating trade fight with Canada. On Saturday, 50% tariffs took effect on some Canadian imports including wine and dairy. On Monday, Trump announced 50% tariffs on all Canadian steel and automotive imports starting in January. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying Canada will begin imposing matching tariffs of up to 50% on billions of dollars of U.S. goods starting Sept. 8. Earlier in the week, Trump had posted a map with the label "Lake Ontario" crossed out and said the U.S. did not expect to be "doing much business with Ontario any longer."

Asked what message the order was meant to send Canada, Trump said, "No message," then added: "As you know, Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade, very, very sadly. Even the military. You know, we defend Canada for nothing."

Carney rejected the change on historical grounds. "The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word 'Ontari'io,' which, appropriately, means, 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big,'" he said. "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 is the only U.S. state on the lake, and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said flatly, "New York won't be calling it that." Toronto's mayor separately called the broader tariff fight "unnecessary."

This is the third naming push of Trump's second term. He renamed the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," a change some private companies adopted, and moved to restore the name Mount McKinley to Denali, North America's highest peak. The Gulf renaming had consequences for news coverage: the White House restricted The Associated Press's access to presidential spaces available to other outlets after the wire service declined to adopt the new name in its copy.

Trump suggested Thursday he was not finished. "Now all we need is an ocean," he said. "So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and — or — the Pacific."