World News

Ontario premier installs billboard resisting Trump's 'Lake America' decree

Doug Ford erected a bilingual shoreline sign after Donald Trump issued an executive order directing U.S. federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario.

Updated Aug 29, 2026 · 21:19 UTC3 reports

The short version

Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large bilingual sign reading 'Lake Ontario. Now and Always' along the Canadian shoreline.
The action responds to a U.S. executive order directing federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' amid escalating trade disputes.
Indigenous leaders and Canadian officials criticized the executive order, emphasizing the lake's Huron Indigenous origins and historical significance.
The naming dispute follows collapsed trade talks, 50 percent U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, and $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs from Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford erected a 24-by-12-foot sign in Ontario reading 'Lake Ontario. Now and Always' in English and French.[CBS News · Associated Press · ABC News]
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing U.S. federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as 'Lake America'.[CBS News · Associated Press · ABC News]
Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard and Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca condemned the order, stating it attempts to erase Indigenous history and violates a 225-year-old treaty.[CBS News · Associated Press · ABC News]
The naming conflict coincides with an escalating trade war involving 50 percent U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and $20 billion in planned retaliatory tariffs from Canada.[CBS News · Associated Press · ABC News]

The practical extent to which U.S. federal agencies will implement the renaming in official cartography or documentation remains unclear.[Associated Press · ABC News]