Hochul, state leaders reject Trump's 'Lake America' rename amid Canada trade war

President Trump signed an executive order this week directing the Interior Department and the Board on Geographic Names to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" — a move that landed poorly with the very people who would have to implement it. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, made clear on Thursday that her state would not comply. "New York won't be calling it that," she wrote on social media, a blunt rejection of a federal directive that, it turned out, had no real teeth.

The order itself is narrow. It tells federal agencies to update their records and provide guidance for how the government should refer to the lake going forward. But states are under no obligation to follow suit. They can keep using Lake Ontario on their maps, their highway signs, their tourism materials. Canada, similarly, is not bound by the order. The lake's name — derived from the Wendat word Ontari'io, meaning "the lake is beautiful, the lake is big" — has held for more than four centuries, predating both American independence and Canadian confederation. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said as much in a statement: "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always."

Hochul was not alone in her resistance. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, also a Democrat, mocked the move by writing "Lake Wisconsin" on a McDonald's napkin and posting a video of himself signing it. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, called the renaming "petty and disappointing" and argued that the administration should be negotiating with Canada, not escalating tensions further. The lake itself spans a watershed that includes 5.6 million Americans and Canadians and connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. It borders New York and Ontario province.

The renaming sits within a much larger conflict. Trump has imposed a 50 percent tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, a move that took effect earlier this month. The trade relationship between the two countries is substantial — U.S. goods and services traded with Canada totaled an estimated $872.3 billion last year. Hochul has been vocal about the cost to New York, saying earlier this week that the president is "treating our allies as enemies" and that "American families continue to suffer because of it."

Canada's response has been swift. Prime Minister Carney announced that his government would impose retaliatory tariffs beginning September 8, matching the American tariffs dollar for dollar. The stated aim is to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses. Hochul and other state leaders have framed the renaming not as a geographic correction but as a distraction from the real work of negotiation — the kind of symbolic gesture that hardens positions rather than softens them. Whether the lake's name changes on federal maps or not, the economic pressure between the two countries continues to build.