Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America
President Donald Trump signs an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America and speaks to reporters in the Oval Office.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," then joked that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could be next.
"As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it, and now it's very routinely the Gulf of America," Trump said.
"So if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean," he continued. "So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them both."
VANCE SAYS CANADA FRIENDLIER TO CHINA ON TRADE THAN TO US: 'INSANITY'
Satellite image of the American Great Lakes : lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. This image was compiled from data acquired by LANDSAT 5 & 7 satellites., Great Lakes, Usa & Canada, True Colour Satellite Image (Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Trump declared the Lake Ontario change "official, effective immediately" while announcing the order.
"And finally, it's the purpose of this more than anything else is we're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately to Lake America," Trump said. "That's going to take place right now as I signed the order."
‘CAPTAIN CANADA’ FIREBRAND UNLOADS ON TRUMP WITH PROFANE ONE-LINER AS TRADE WAR ESCALATES
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The president said the administration had "filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else" and notified the relevant parties.
"So we've done everything that you have to do. And this is official, effective immediately," Trump said.
CANADA REPORTEDLY SCRAPS JOINT BRIDGE CELEBRATION WITH US AFTER TRUMP RENEWS TARIFF THREAT
The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, working with the Board on Geographic Names, to take steps within 30 days to rename the lake in the federal Geographic Names Information System and remove references to "Lake Ontario."
It also directs the board to ensure federal maps, contracts, documents and agency communications use the new name.
TRUMP BLAMES CANADA FOR WILDFIRE SMOKE, SAYS POLLUTION COSTS SHOULD BE ADDED TO TARIFFS
The order does not control the name used by Canada, which borders the lake along with New York.
It is not Trump’s first effort to put an American stamp on a major body of water.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed Executive Order 14172, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," directing the federal government to use "Gulf of America" in place of the Gulf of Mexico.
TRUMP JUST EXPANDED HIS TARIFF PLAYBOOK WITH A POWERFUL TRADE WEAPON NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER USED
President Donald Trump, from right, speaks to reporters accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Burgum's wife Kathryn Burgum, aboard Air Force One where Trump signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day, as he travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Trump later signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9, 2025, the first "Gulf of America Day" while aboard Air Force One over the newly renamed gulf en route to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
"Today, I am very honored to recognize February 9, 2025, as the first ever Gulf of America Day," Trump wrote in the proclamation.
CHAD WOLF: CANADA CAN'T EXPECT FREE TRADE WHILE LEAVING OUR NORTHERN BORDER VULNERABLE
Burgum said at the time that the Interior Department had implemented Trump’s instruction from the executive order.
The Lake America order invokes that same policy, arguing that the United States is the "greatest protector" of the Great Lakes system.
It points to nearly $4 billion in U.S. freshwater ecosystem investment over the last decade, as well as the Coast Guard’s fleet of icebreaking vessels.
SENATORS REJECT TRUMP’S CALL TO MAKE CANADA PAY FOR WILDFIRE SMOKE: ‘RIDICULOUS’
People look out across Lake Ontario and the Toronto Skyline from the Toronto Harbour in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP) (AP)
"The United States has invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada has invested far less in similar initiatives over the same period," the order states.
The order also cites the lake’s historic role in American trade, settlement, defense, commerce and energy, arguing it remains a major economic and strategic resource for the United States.
"In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake officially be renamed as Lake America," Trump wrote.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump’s comments about renaming the Atlantic and Pacific appeared to be a joke. He announced no executive action or formal effort targeting either ocean.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
