"In case he or someone else forgot": The new sign against Trump
The Premier of Ontario, Canada, Doug Ford, placed a huge sign on the shore of Lake Ontario in response to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump to change the lake's name to "Lake America." The sign reads: "Lake Ontario, now and always."
The Premier of Ontario, Canada, Doug Ford, placed a new, huge sign on the shore of Lake Ontario in response to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump to change the lake's name to "Lake America." The sign reads: "Lake Ontario, now and always."
Ford's move comes days after Trump signed an executive order directing the name of the lake, which borders both Canada and the US state of New York, to be changed. Canada rejected the decision, clarifying that they do not recognize the name change. Standing in front of the new sign, Ford said:
"It was called Lake Ontario long before Trump, and it will be called that long after Trump is gone. But just in case he or someone else forgot, we put up this sign to remind them: it is Lake Ontario, now and always."
In the background is growing tension between the United States and Canada following the collapse of trade talks and the imposition of new American tariffs on Canadian goods. Canada announced that it would respond with counter-tariffs, a move that could exacerbate the economic crisis between the parties. According to Ford, Trump's name change stems from the fact that "Ontario and Canada are standing their ground."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also addressed the move, saying that "things must be called by their names" and that the lake is called Lake Ontario "today and forever." Trump, for his part, posted videos created using artificial intelligence on social media, in which a "Lake Ontario" sign is seen being replaced by a "Welcome to Lake America" sign. The videos sparked reactions in Canada and deepened the war of words between the parties.
The names of four of the five Great Lakes — Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Erie — originate from indigenous languages. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes and is geographically shared by Canada and the United States. The confrontation over the lake's name is reminiscent of a previous move by Trump, in which he signed an order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." That decision also met with opposition from a neighboring country, with Mexico arguing that one country cannot unilaterally change the name of a shared international body of water.
