‘Then, now and always’: Carney says it will always be Lake Ontario after Trump order

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canadians know Lake Ontario will always be known by its original name, after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to change it to Lake America.

In a post on social media, Carney said “we know that America is changing.”

“Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney posted. “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since trade negotiations fell apart on Friday. Both countries have accused each other of implementing eleventh-hour changes.

Carney has said the agreement became untenable. The federal government unveiled its retaliatory measures, set to go in place next month, on Tuesday.

Carney said the name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.”

The lake’s name “is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” Carney added.

The relationship between Canada and the United States was already rocky before recent negotiations. Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation have angered and confused the historically close ally.

Trump first threatened to rename the body of water during an escalating war of words with Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier this week.

The two exchanged insults, with Ford calling the president a bully, among other things, and Trump saying the premier was a “less charismatic, intelligent” version of his late brother, Rob.

Sitting near a map with the name “Lake America” over the body of water on Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump said Canada has been difficult to deal with and repeated claims the country was ripping off the United States.

“They want to be treated like a state but they are not a state,” Trump said.

When asked why he was targeting American allies with these types of actions instead of American adversaries, Trump said “they haven’t treated us well.”

“The Canadian officials have treated us very badly,” Trump said. “They are nasty people.”

Ford said on social media Thursday that “it’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — who previously was governor of border state North Dakota — posted on social media “the places and waters that border our nation and support our economy should reflect the greatness of the United States.” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra shared Burgum’s post.

But the renaming was quickly condemned as a distraction by others.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont called the move disappointing. In a post on social media he said “we should be at the negotiating table, finding a path forward that strengthens both the U.S. and Canadian economies.”

“Further escalating tensions does nothing to help American or Canadian families and businesses,” Scott said.

Democrat Gov. Janet Mills of Maine posted a tip for the president on social media: “focus on lowering costs for your constituents instead of doodling on maps.”

In Canada, the move prompted incredulity, with Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston posting on social media that “we’re into some real foolishness now.”

“It’s Lake Ontario, buddy,” Houston said.

At an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew described the situation as an over-the-hill rock star playing old hits at a casino.

“I think that’s the part of Donald Trump’s presidency we’re at now,” Kinew said. “Like he thought he had a real hit, a real golden oldie with the Gulf of Mexico, and he’s trying to bring back that, and he’s trying to play the hits for his base. But I think everybody here thinks it’s a little sad and it’s not his best work.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said no executive order will change the lake’s name and “it doesn’t belong to President Donald Trump to rename on a whim.” He said Canada should not respond to stunts and distractions and stay focused on what the country can control.

Lake Ontario — one of the five Great Lakes — is located between Ontario and New York. The Canadian province is named after the lake.

The White House did not respond to questions about whether any Indigenous groups in the United States were consulted before the name change.

Trump pointed to his decision in 2025 to sign an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and mused that maybe next he’ll change the name of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.

The name change only applies to U.S. federal documents and geographic services, but some online map services and American news agencies also made the change to the Gulf of Mexico.

The geographic controversy led to the White House removing The Associated Press from certain duties covering the president after the news service did not use “Gulf of America” in its reporting.

The Associated Press took the White House to court in a dust-up that led to press secretary Karoline Leavitt ripping many authorities away from the White House Correspondents’ Association, the organization of journalists who cover the president.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2026.

— With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa and Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press