President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” adding a new point of tension between the United States and Canada at a time when relations between the two countries are already strained by a trade dispute.
The order, signed Thursday, directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to work with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to make the change within 30 days. Federal agencies would then be instructed to use “Lake America” in maps, contracts and other official documents.
But the lake is shared by two countries, and its history stretches back far beyond either modern nation.
The White House order describes Lake Ontario as an important American economic and military resource. It points to the lake’s role in shipping, settlement, commerce and defense, including the history of Oswego and Sackets Harbor and the lake’s connection to the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Trump’s order also argues that the United States has taken on a greater share of responsibility for protecting the Great Lakes, citing billions of dollars in U.S. investment and the role of the Coast Guard in keeping shipping lanes open during the winter.
The name change, however, would not erase the lake’s existing history, or necessarily change what it is called outside the U.S. government. Long before European colonization, Indigenous peoples lived around and traveled across the lake and the surrounding Great Lakes region.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations, has longstanding cultural, political and economic ties to the region. The Haudenosaunee homeland extends across what is now much of upstate New York and into parts of southern Ontario and Quebec.
The lake’s name itself is sacred and predates the creation of both the United States and Canada.
“Ontario” is derived from a Haudenosaunee word commonly rendered as Ontarí, generally translated as “great lake” or “beautiful water.”
European powers later imposed their own names, boundaries and systems of government on the region.
Lake Ontario eventually became part of the international boundary between the United States and Canada. Today, the lake stretches roughly 190 miles from west to east, with its shoreline divided between New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.
The executive order does not give the United States control over Canada's use of the name. Instead, it directs the U.S. government to adopt “Lake America” for its own official purposes. The order says the Board on Geographic Names should update the federal Geographic Names Information System and remove references to “Lake Ontario” from that database.
That means the name could begin appearing on U.S. federal maps and documents even while Canadian governments and the public continue calling it Lake Ontario.
The lake's name is also embedded in a much broader system of cross-border agreements governing the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
The White House order does not change those agreements or establish a new international boundary.
And for people living along the lake, the practical consequences may be less significant than the symbolism.
Lake Ontario has connected communities on both sides of the border for centuries. Its waters support drinking-water systems, agriculture, tourism, shipping, manufacturing and recreation in both countries.
Trump's decision to call it Lake America comes as his administration's relationship with Canada has deteriorated over trade.
The two countries are already engaged in a dispute over tariffs, with Trump accusing Canada of taking advantage of the United States and Canadian officials pushing back against his trade policies.
