US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was considering renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” as his trade war with Canada intensified.
Trump reinforced the proposal by sharing a map featuring the suggested name, echoing his decision last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, reports AFP.
His comments came as Canada announced a series of retaliatory tariffs on US goods after trade negotiations between the traditionally close allies collapsed on Friday.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes along the US-Canada border. It shares its name with the Canadian province of Ontario, which borders the lake alongside the US state of New York. Toronto, Canada’s largest city, lies on its northwestern shore.
Trump later posted a map showing “Lake Ontario” crossed out and replaced with “Lake America” in large gold lettering alongside a US flag. Pro-Trump social media accounts subsequently amplified the post.
The proposal comes as Trump renews his push for Canada to become the 51st US state while the trade dispute between the two countries continues to escalate.
It also highlights Trump’s increasingly personal dispute with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said Monday that the US president could “kiss my ass” and threatened to impose a surcharge on electricity exports.
During his second presidency, Trump has angered several allies with a series of unconventional territorial claims.
Mexico has rejected his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which Trump issued on his first day back in office on 20 January.
