Trump says he’s considering renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ as trade war escalates

Trump says he’s considering renaming Ontario" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="192878" data-entity-type="location">Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ as trade war with escalates 0 seconds of 1 minute, 49 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Trump praises deal to stave off Canada tariffs, says he’s going to meet with North Korea’s leader 01:14 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:49 01:49 More Videos 01:14 Trump praises deal to stave off Canada tariffs, says he’s going to meet with North Korea’s leader 02:07 First Afghan-American Representative-elect to succeed Eric Swalwell in Congress 01:19 Provincial leader says Trump is a ‘bad person’ as Canada weighs concessions for trade deal 01:09 AP Explains: Byron Donalds celebrates Republican nomination for Florida Governor 00:52 AP Top Stories August 19 00:28 Video shows officers fall as a second-story deck collapses while they try to make an arrest 01:41 Trump gives press a tour of latest construction project: a new helipad 01:28 Women, men in pink rally in support of Lindsay Clancy at her trial for killing her 3 children Close 1 of 5 | The owner of a Michigan furniture manufacturer said the White House’s new tariffs on Canadian imports will “hamper the ability for us to put food on the table for our family” (AP video: Mike Householder) 2 of 5 | President Donald Trump speaks during a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 3 of 5 | U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File) 4 of 5 | Chrysler Pacificas are driven off the lot at Windsor-assembly-plant" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="192880" data-entity-type="organization">Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Dax Melmer/The Canadian Press via AP) 5 of 5 | Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at a housing development in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP) By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ROB GILLIES Updated 1:47 PM MESZ, August 25, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Ontario" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="192878" data-entity-type="location">Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The United States and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected to announce retaliatory measures Tuesday. That’s in response to the Trump administration enacting 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down. “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Ontario" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="192878" data-entity-type="location">Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump said Tuesday on social media. Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is home to the country’s auto industry. The rhetoric between the two countries is escalating, with Trump telling Canadian leaders Monday to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney has accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada. Trump also threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, while Carney said U.S. trade demands showed that Washington wanted to “destroy our major industries,” including autos, steel and aluminum. Trump defends his sweeping tariffs and watches ‘America First’ drag races during Michigan stop 5 MIN READ 40 Canadian provincial leader says Trump is a ‘bad person’ as Canada weighs concessions for trade deal 4 MIN READ Canada set to announce retaliatory tariffs as Trump tells its leaders to ‘fall in line’ 4 MIN READ Canada and the United States share one of the world’s largest trading relationships, with deeply integrated supply chains across autos, energy, agriculture and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade fight potentially costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border. Businesses and consumers are caught in the middle, facing uncertainty about how much prices may increase. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and Terms of Service apply. Michael Howard II, owner of a furniture business in Warren, Michigan, outside Detroit, said the tariffs will hamper the “ability for us to put food on the table for our family, but also impacts the ability for us to give back to our community.” Howard and his wife started their business a decade ago. They make and sell everything from dining room tables to bookcases. “To say that we don’t need Canada is just disingenuous,” he said. “It’s dishonest. And it’s just absolutely not truthful. We need our neighbor, but also they need us.” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and three other Cabinet ministers are also expected Tuesday morning to share details of support for workers affected by tariffs. Carney said earlier Monday that Canada may need to move away from matching U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar and instead use more targeted retaliation aimed at protecting Canadian workers and businesses. “An attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States” is “not something we’re going to accept,” Carney said. “We learned during the negotiations that the Americans want to destroy our major industries, including autos, steel and aluminum,” Carney said. “That was one of the main reasons we said no. It was a bad deal.” Rob Gillies reported from Ontario. Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington and Mike Householder from Warren, Michigan DARLENE SUPERVILLE Superville covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a special emphasis on first ladies and first families.