Toronto skyline along the shores of Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo: iStock) The US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the US government to refer to Lake Ontario as "Lake America", escalating tensions with Canada amid a wider trade dispute between the two countries. The order directs the US Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the US Geographic Names Information System. It does not require Canada to adopt the new name. According to Associated Press, "The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow along, however." Sailboats on Lake Ontario in Olcott, New York, on August 25, 2026. (Photo: AP) The move came after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed. On August 22, the US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on approximately US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods. On August 25, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of US imports, with duties ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent and due to take effect on September 8. Read More: Can Trump Rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America'? Here's What His Order Actually Means When Trump signed the order in the Oval Office on August 27, a map of the Great Lakes was displayed behind him with "Lake America" written across the body of water. The lake lies at the lowest elevation of the Great Lakes, about 243 feet (74 metres) above sea level. Despite its smaller surface area, it is deep, reaching a maximum depth of about 802 feet (244 metres). Its waters flow out through the St Lawrence River, which eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Signs mark the entrance to Ontario Beach Park on the shore of Lake Ontario in Rochester, New York, on August 25, 2026. (Photo: AP) Lake Ontario receives water from Lake Erie through the Niagara River, which includes Niagara Falls. The lake's eastern end connects with the St Lawrence River, where the Thousand Islands archipelago begins. The islands, spread across the river between Ontario and New York, are a major destination for boating and tourism. The National Museum of the Great Lakes describes Lake Ontario as the gateway between the Great Lakes and the wider world through the St Lawrence Seaway. The modern St Lawrence Seaway system opened in 1959, creating a navigable route between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Trump's executive order describes Lake Ontario as an important American economic and strategic resource, noting that its deepest waters lie within US territory and arguing that the lake has played a role in American exploration, settlement, commerce and defence. Chimney Bluffs State Park on Lake Ontario, known for its distinctive 175-foot-high glacial formations shaped by erosion along New York’s shoreline. (Photo: iStock) The lake has a long Indigenous history and was an important route for travel, trade and communication. Its surrounding lands were home to Indigenous nations long before European settlement. The National Marine Sanctuaries programme describes the eastern Lake Ontario region as part of the ancestral and present homeland of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and highlights the lake's role in the expansion of French and British empires, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The lake subsequently became an important route for maritime commerce. Canals and waterways connected Lake Ontario with other parts of the Great Lakes and eventually the Atlantic, helping establish the region as an important centre for trade and transportation. Scenic view of the Scarborough Bluffs along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo: iStock)