Trump renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ amid intensifying US-Canada trade dispute

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, a move that came amid a trade war with Canada. 

"This is a lake that has most of its volume in the United States," Trump said in the Oval Office. "The deepest parts of the lake sit in United States territory. So, this will reflect that. This is American Lake."

Trump said he has directed Interior Doug Burgum and the department to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the name change. 

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The move to rename the lake, which sits on the U.S.-Canada border, came amid a breakdown in trade between both nations, with Trump accusing Ottawa of unfair trade practices.

Trump floated renaming Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, hours before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement of reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports. 

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The U.S. imposed new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods such as wine, furniture and dairy products, while Carney said U.S. trade demands proved Washington wanted to "destroy our major industries," including autos, steel and aluminum, FOX Business previously reported.

"Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade," Trump said Thursday. "Very sadly, even the military, you know, we defend Canada for nothing. We don't get anything. They don't pay us to defend Canada."

He said that Canada wants to "be treated like a state" and "we just can't do that anymore." Trump angered Canadian officials last year when he advocated for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state. 

Trump even jokingly floated renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Trump previously used geographic names to make political statements, ordering the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.