Donald Trump says "Canada’s been ripping us off for a long time" amid lake renaming dispute

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Interior Department to update U.S. geographic records so Lake Ontario is identified as “Lake America,” a designation Canada is not required to follow. The action comes amid escalating trade conflict: the U.S. has announced 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods, and Canada has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, and farm equipment. Trump said the renaming carried no specific geopolitical message, but argued Canada has long taken advantage of the U.S. on trade and defense matters. Canadian officials dismissed the move, with Nova Scotia’s premier calling it foolish and Ontario’s premier treating it as rhetoric. The lake’s name comes from a Huron word meaning “lake of shining waters.”