President Donald Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” has drawn ridicule and scepticism from residents and politicians in New York, where several communities border the Great Lakes.
Trump signed an executive order on 27 August directing federal officials to carry out the change amid deteriorating US-Canada relations. The move followed the collapse of tariff negotiations and the escalation of a trade dispute between the two countries, according to the order.
While US administration officials announced the plan on social media the same day, many local residents said they saw no reason to change a name that predates both the United States and Canada.
Trump Administration Moves Ahead
US officials and departments posted details of the proposed renaming on 27 August, with some praising it among a small group of conservative figures.
Utah Senator Mike Lee and US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, among others, backed the idea. Burgum wrote: “Make the Great Lakes Great Again!” The administration has also since floated the concept of renaming an ocean, according to reports referenced in the coverage.
In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said that most of Lake Ontario’s volume lies within the United States and that the new name would reflect the lake’s “place in America and her heritage”. The White House did not respond to questions about public reaction to the proposal.
New York Officials Reject the Name
Local politicians in New York moved quickly to distance themselves from the change.
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said he would not adopt the new label. Posting on social media on 27 August, he wrote that “Lake Ontario will remain Lake Ontario”, adding that Ontario Beach Park would also keep its existing name. He also said the Genesee River and the Erie Canal remained unchanged.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in response to Trump’s order that “New York won’t be calling it that.”
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Elsewhere in the US, some Republicans criticised the proposal. Wisconsin Representative Tom Tiffany said he believed the Great Lakes “are the Great Lakes” and should keep their current names, including Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario. Vermont Governor Phil Scott described the move as “petty and disappointing”.
Residents Say There Are Bigger Priorities
People living near the lake in New York told the Democrat and Chronicle that they were surprised by the announcement.
Sharee Turpin, of Gates, said her first reaction was that the plan was “funny”. She described visiting Lake Ontario every summer since childhood and said it would always remain Lake Ontario to her. She added that she wanted the name to stay because it formed part of local history.
Other residents expressed similar disbelief. Mike Olcott and Pat Vito, also near Lake Ontario, said the president had more pressing issues than changing the name of the water. Vito said the lake itself would still remain there regardless of any attempt to rename it.
John Melder, from Greece, said he laughed at the idea, citing Trump’s earlier attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico, which he said had not changed the name in practice.
Critics Call It a Distraction
Democratic politicians said the naming initiative reflected wider tensions with Canada rather than a genuine policy priority.
Democratic Representative Joseph Morelle, whose district includes cities on the lake, said the trade war was harming families in Rochester while Trump focused on “playing games with a map”, the USA TODAY Network reported. Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said the name change distracted from issues that, he argued, were causing undue harm to low-income and middle-class consumers and to small business owners.
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29 August 2026
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