Donald Trump has signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America, effective immediately, as tensions with Canada escalate in an ongoing trade dispute.
The 80-year-old American leader announced on Thursday that the body of water would henceforth be known as Lake America. "We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately to Lake America," Trump declared from the Oval Office while signing the directive. The alteration will only apply within US borders, as President Trump lacks the authority to compel Canada to adopt the new designation.
Symbolic action follows weeks of speculation
Over recent days, Trump had repeatedly floated the prospect of taking this symbolic action, though uncertainty remained over whether he would actually proceed with it. When pressed by a journalist about the intended message behind the move, he curtly responded: "No message".
Yet he swiftly continued, "Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade." "They don't pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they're not a state," Trump stated.
Precedent set by Gulf of America rebrand
These remarks echo his previous directive ordering the US Government to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America'. The USGS has now incorporated Gulf of America into its official American place-name registry. Nevertheless, the change hasn't achieved global recognition, with Mexico and numerous other nations maintaining use of Gulf of Mexico.
Trade dispute escalates
His comments brought to a close a turbulent week in US-Canada relations, with the two nations embroiled in an intensifying trade dispute. Mr Trump unveiled further tariff increases on steel, vehicles and automotive components on Monday, scheduled to take effect from January. Canada responded earlier in the week by confirming it would slap new tariffs on American products valued at $20bn (£17.1bn).
Tariffs - taxes levied on imports from abroad - have formed a cornerstone of Mr Trump's approach to international commerce. On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hit out at Mr Trump, describing a new round of American tariffs against Canada as a "miscalculation". Mr Carney argued the tariffs were intended to "hurt and divide us", following the collapse of trade negotiations late on Friday.
