Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario, making it Lake America, amid his escalating trade war with Canada. The order directs federal agencies to adopt the name-change on US maps, documents and databases. But Trump has no authority to rename Canada’s portion of the lake, nor to compel Canada, international legal bodies, international mapmakers, or the rest of the world to adopt a new name.
The move follows a similar action the president took on the first day of his second term in office, when he signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific,” he told reporters, sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The latest tweak of Canada’s nose by the US president comes as tensions fray between the US and its northern neighbor.
Over the weekend, trade talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed and the US imposed a 50% tariff on several Canadian imports, with Trump threatening another round of 50% duties on Canadian steel, trucks, cars and auto parts to take effect in the new year. Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, hit back with 25-50% tariffs on hundreds of US goods. Trump claimed that American farmers are being charged a 400% tariff; about 97% of US agricultural exports to Canada enter duty-free under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, though over-quota eggs, milk and dairy have Canadian tariffs of up to 300%.
Sad,” Trump said after signing the executive order updating the Department of Interior’s naming conventions. They don’t pay us to defend Canada. But we defend Canada.” Both Canada and the United States are Nato members and have treaty obligations of mutual defense under the North Atlantic Treaty, the Ogdensburg Agreement and numerous other treaties.
Trump claimed the name change was something he had been considering for “a long time”.
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