Canadian PM Carney Rejects Trump’s Order To Rename Lake Ontario As Lake America

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s decision to rename “Lake Ontario” as “Lake America.”

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday announcing the new name as tensions between the US and Canada continue over trade.

Lake Ontario is one of North America’s five Great Lakes, which sits along the US-Canada border, with Canada’s Ontario province on its northern side and New York State in the south.

In his order, Trump argued that with “the deepest parts of the Lake’s waters lying within United States territory, the United States claims most of the Lake’s volume”.

He also added that the lake has “long been an integral asset to American exploration, settlement, commerce, and defence”.

Mark Carney, however, rejected the move and defended the historic name Lake Ontario.

In a statement, the Canadian PM explained that the name comes from the Wendat word “Ontario” and is more than 400 years old.

He noted that the name existed long before Canada became a country or the US declared independence.

“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontario, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big” The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” Carney said.

“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms.

“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”

There is no single global body responsible for deciding geographical names. Because of this, it remains unclear whether Trump’s renaming order will be recognised or used outside the United States.

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