President Donald Trump floated renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” on Tuesday as his trade fight with Canada erupted into an increasingly personal brawl.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to [sic] doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning on Truth Social.
The proposed name change was a fresh jab at America’s northern neighbor after negotiations collapsed last week, setting off another round of tariffs and retaliatory threats.
Trump also unloaded on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, accusing him of falsely claiming that Washington pushed Canada to weaken protections for the French language and culture.
“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” Trump wrote. “In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing.”
“This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec,” Trump added. “I love French Canadians!”
Carney raised the language dispute Saturday as he announced the suspension of negotiations.
“We were not prepared to compromise on the protection of the French language and our culture,” Carney said, adding that those issues were “never on the table” for Canada.
The prime minister repeated his position during a Monday appearance in Quebec, arguing that French-language safeguards criticized by Washington are fundamental Canadian rights.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer rejected Carney’s version of events, dismissing it as a “funny, fake story.” Greer said the administration’s objection involved requirements imposed on American streaming companies, not an attempt to dictate what language Canadians speak.
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The Lake America proposal puts another geographic landmark at the center of Trump’s political messaging. Lake Ontario straddles Ontario and New York, while the Canadian province is deeply tied to the U.S. economy through the auto industry.
Trump previously ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America.
Vice President JD Vance carried the administration’s message to Maine on Monday, accusing Ottawa of giving China better trade treatment than its closest neighbor.
“They treat Chinese goods more fairly than they do the goods that come from the people of Maine: It’s insanity,” Vance said during a question-and-answer session Monday in Brewer. “And what we’ve said to Canada is stop it.”
Vance said the two sides appeared headed for an agreement until Canadian officials introduced what he described as unreasonable demands in the final stretch.
Trump separately announced Monday that 50% tariffs on Canadian automobiles, auto parts, trucks and steel would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” Trump wrote Monday.
Despite the deepening feud, Vance left open the possibility of Washington and Ottawa eventually returning to the negotiating table.
“I think that we should have a deal,” Vance said. “We expect fairness in our trade policy.”
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