Ottawa, Canada – Ontario Premier Doug Ford escalated his political spat with U.S. President Donald Trump by unveiling a massive, illuminated sign on the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario bearing the unmistakable message: “Lake Ontario… Now and Forever.” This symbolic and direct response to repeated U.S. efforts, including Trump’s executive orders aimed at renaming the iconic body of water “Lake America,” was a direct rebuke to Trump’s attempts to impose the name on the U.S. lake.
In his remarks during the sign-raising ceremony, Ford firmly asserted that the lake “was called Lake Ontario long before President Trump came to power.” He emphasized that it would retain the same name “long after he leaves” the presidency. Ford suggested that Trump resorted to this provocative act because “he didn’t like that Ontario and Canada were standing up for themselves.” Furthermore, Ford added sarcastically, “In case President Trump or anyone else has forgotten, we put up this sign to remind them of the truth.”
A US executive order and AI clips spark crisis
This escalation comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to officially change the name of the Gulf of Ontario within the United States. He gave the Department of the Interior a 30-day deadline to update the official database of geographical names. Furthermore, Trump released AI-generated videos, one of which shows him personally removing a sign bearing the name “Lake Ontario” and replacing it with one reading “Lake America.” This move is reminiscent of a similar action Trump took in 2015, when he changed the official name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. That earlier move sparked outrage and strong opposition from Mexico.
Escalating trade tensions and the geography of the Great Lakes
This symbolic confrontation coincides with a growing trade crisis and tensions on the US-Canadian border. This follows the breakdown of trade negotiations and Washington’s imposition of additional and stringent tariffs on Canadian imports. In response, the government in Ottawa is preparing a package of countermeasures. Lake Ontario, geographically located on the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York, is the smallest of the five Great Lakes in North America. Yet, it is now becoming a new arena for diplomatic and symbolic conflict between the two neighboring countries.
