Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney objected to renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America" amid rising trade tensions with the United States. Carney said Canadians would continue to call the lake by its historic name, Lake Ontario.
In a statement on X, Carney said the name "Ontario" comes from the Wendat word "Ontari’io." He said the expression means "the lake is beautiful, the lake is large."
The Canadian prime minister emphasized that the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and began being used before both Canadian Confederation and the United States Declaration of Independence.
"We know America is changing. Its trade relations, foreign policies, national monuments and the names of bodies of water are changing. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario—yesterday, today and always."
Carney's statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order providing for Lake Ontario to be called "Lake America." Before signing the order in the Oval Office, Trump said the name change would take effect immediately.
Canada-U.S. trade tensions
Relations between Ottawa and Washington have become strained after trade negotiations failed to produce results and the United States imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods. The Canadian government responded to the tariffs shortly afterward.