Trump's 'Lake America' Order Sparks Sovereignty Row
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Indigenous leaders and Canadian officials reject U.S. President's executive order to rename Lake Ontario, citing the erasure of Wendat history.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing all arms of the federal government to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America," as Global News Toronto first reported. The move follows a 2025 executive order in which Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, with the President suggesting he may later rename the Pacific or Atlantic oceans.
Prime Minister Mark Carney responded Thursday by stating the body of water will be known as Lake Ontario "then, now and always," noting the name originates from the Wendat word *Ontari:io*, meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big." Global News Toronto reports that Carney informed Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard that Canada will not comply with the unilateral name change.
Grand Chief Picard described the order as an attempt to eradicate the history, culture, and identity of the Wendat people, who occupied the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley regions. Picard has requested a meeting for next week with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra to express his opposition. Mohawk policy analyst Russ Diabo characterized the decision as "totally asinine" and reflective of racism toward Indigenous peoples.
Opposition to the order has extended into the United States. The city council of Rochester, NY, passed a unanimous proclamation Friday condemning the move as a "flaccid stunt" and a distraction from economic issues and the war with Iran. Additionally, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ridiculed the action on X by jokingly decreeing Lake Michigan as "Lake Wisconsin." In the private sector, mapping company MapQuest announced via social media that it will not change the name.