Trump orders Lake Ontario to be changed to 'Lake America' in latest Canada swipe
The US President said the change in name to the lake, which straddles the US-Canada border, would take effect instantly
Donald Trump has ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed 'Lake America' in a swipe at Canada as the trade war between the two countries escalates.
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The US President said the change in name to the lake, which straddles the US-Canada border, would take effect instantly.
It comes amid an escalating trade war between the US and Canada.
On Saturday, Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, with Canada's Prime Minister retaliating in kind by imposing up to 50 per cent tariffs on US imports.
One of the five Great Lakes of North America, Lake Ontario borders both the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York.
A White House aide said the order directs the Department of the Interior and Secretary Doug Burgum to make the change.
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The President posted a TikTok on Wednesday in which he can be seen brandishing a map of Lake Ontario.
He states: “We’re gonna make a little change; we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario.
“We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence.”
Trump, 80, takes a sharpie and crosses out Lake Ontario, scrawling in its place: 'Lake America'.
"And now we have a gulf because we have the gulf of America," he continues, in reference to the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico last year.
“And now we have Lake America without the ‘of.’ Enjoy Lake America.”
The clip was posted a day after Trump threatened to rename the Great Lake amid a souring of relations between the two countries.
Name changes in the US are overseen by The Board on Geographic Names, a government agency.
Even if the name-change is approved, other countries would not be required to recognise it. Canada has already signalled it will not recognise the new name, CNBC reports.
Asked by a reporter what message he intended to send by renaming the lake, Trump at first replied: “No message.”
However he added: “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."
Last year the President enraged many Canadians by advocating for the country to become the 51st state of North America.
The swipe comes as the trade war between the neighbouring nations heats up.
Canada's counter-tariffs are set to take effect on US goods from September 8 and will impose duties of 15%, 25% and 50% across 700 products imported from south of the border, a government statement said.