As President Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a new low, he turned once again to the art of redrawing the world map. With the stroke of a pen, the President sought to erase over 400 years of cartographic history by renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” through executive order. Trump’s unilateral action requires that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names update its databases to “reflect the renaming of the Lake and remove all references to Lake Ontario.”

Trump’s executive order applies to all U.S. federal maps, documents, and other communications. However, experts suggest that Trump can’t force other countries, international organizations, private mapping companies, or even U.S. state governments to use the new name. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has already responded in no uncertain terms that Canada will retain the original name of Lake Ontario “today and forever.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul also rejected the use of the name “Lake America” on New York state maps.

As two geographers who have spent decades studying political toponymy, or the politics of place naming, in both the United States and Canada, we are dismayed by the careless nature of Trump’s impulsive use of place renaming as a form of political rage baiting. 

Renaming Lake Ontario is part of a larger pattern of using place naming to promote the Trump brand and his “America First” ideology. From the very outset of his second presidential term, Trump launched the so-called “Golden Age of America” by announcing that the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the “Gulf of America.” This has now been followed with “Lake America,” and Trump even mused about possibly renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, we presume to something along the lines of “American Ocean” or “Ocean of America.”

Over the past year, Trump’s obsession with naming places has given rise to a new term—toponymic narcissism—which refers to the condition of being obsessed with naming places after oneself.  

In many respects, Trump tends to approach the world map much like the Greek mythical figure of Narcissus viewed a body of water: as an opportunity to admire the reflection of his own self-image.

The cost of this narcissistic approach to controlling and changing place names is that it obscures how these names should be shared symbolic resources that serve the broader public and not just the ambitions, grievances, or political feuds of a single individual.

The conventional process of naming geographical features along the U.S.-Canada border involves bringing a formal proposal to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and the Geographical Names Board of Canada, along with their state and provincial counterparts on both sides of the border. There is generally an extensive consultation process to ensure all geographical naming authorities are on the same page before moving forward with a name change. Yet Trump has thrown all of this out the window simply to rage-bait a U.S. ally into submission.

While the standard place naming process is not perfect, it at least establishes an institutional procedure for review, consultation, evidence gathering, and consideration of competing claims before a geographic name is changed. By contrast, what we are witnessing under Trump 2.0 is a unilateral naming by decree or whim with seemingly no public discussion or real government consideration of impacts and consequences. 

It is clear to us that Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario is symbolic political theater aimed at diverting our attention away from the fallout of his trade war with Canada. Yet symbols matter. Place naming is a world-making practice that shapes the very foundations of our geographical imaginations and how we come to know and engage with the world.

There is a risk in dismissing Trump’s cartography of mass distraction as a frivolous symbolic tactic, since it can have real consequences for what is taught in classrooms, reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples, and the badly needed repair of relations between the United States and Canada.

If there is any hope to be found in the cartographic carnage that Trump is unleashing on the world map, it is that a future president can just as easily reverse these name changes in an attempt to restore America’s world image.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Lake Ontario will continue to be called by that name despite President Donald Trump signing an Executive Order directing for it to be renamed as “Lake America.”

“The name is more than 400 years old, pre-dating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” said Carney on Thursday. “We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms.”

Insisting that Canadians are aware of the “naming reality,” Carney rejected Trump's directive for the lake, which borders the Canadian ‌province ⁠of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.

The name change is the latest jab in an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Canada after talks collapsed last week, leading to tariffs being imposed by both countries.

The order applies to U.S. federal references of the lake and does not determine how Canada—or others—refer to the body of water.

The “Lake Ontario” moniker has also firmly been rejected by many in the U.S., including New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul, who simply stated: “New York won’t be calling it that.”

With tensions between the Trump Administration and Canada reaching new heights, here’s what to know about how lawmakers on both sides of the lake have responded to the Executive Order.

How Canadian lawmakers have reacted

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a vocal critic of the U.S. President, insisted “it’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world, now and forever.” In agreement, Ontario lawmaker Marit Stiles said: “It will always be Lake Ontario.”

Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, described the name change as “preposterous,” telling CNN: “We’re still going to call it Lake Ontario, I think many of you [Americans] will still call it Lake Ontario.”

“The only person who is going to have a trouble with what to call it is your President,” Brown continued. “If our Prime Minister wanted to rename the Mississippi, you’d probably get a chuckle out of it. It’s having the same reaction in Canada.” 

Pierre Poilievre, Canada's main opposition leader, staunchly pushed back on Trump’s directive. “Lake Ontario is and will always be Lake Ontario, and no Executive Order will change that. It doesn't belong to President Donald Trump to rename on a whim,” he said. 

“It's Lake Ontario, buddy,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, referring to the name change as “some real foolishness.” 

Elsewhere, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow vowed that Trump's "antics won't weaken our resolve as Canadians."

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew likened Trump to an “over the hill” rock band. “He thought he had a real hit, a real golden oldie with the Gulf of Mexico, and he’s trying to bring back that,” he said, referencing how Trump signed a similar order last year renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” 

City councillor Brad Bradford, who is currently running for mayor of Toronto, said if he’s elected, he’ll push to rename Trump’s home state the “Province of New York.”

Referring to D.C.’s actions as "ludicrous," Bradford insisted “you can try and change the name of a lake, but you can’t change the spirit of our city, our province, or our country.” 

What U.S. Democrats have said about the name change

Rep. Tim Kennedy of New York referred to the trade war as "illogical" and accused Trump of distributing "juvenile" rhetoric. “Lake Ontario will always be Lake Ontario,” he said.

Former First Lady and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton stated “it’s Lake Ontario” in response to the news.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland argued the move was “more evidence we elected a toddler as President.” 

Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan announced plans to introduce a bill, titled the "Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act," that would nullify the name change.

Denouncing the President's directive, Dingell said: “Donald Trump can sign all the Executive Orders he wants, but it will always be Lake Ontario. Canada is not our enemy. It is our neighbor, our ally, and one of Michigan’s most important economic partners. It is a friendship that no stroke of a pen can erase.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his social media followers: “Donald Trump picked a fight with Canada that is costing you money. Instead of fixing it, he is spending your tax dollars to rename Lake Ontario.”

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona queried the directive while referencing the cost of living crisis, asking: “How does changing the name of a lake help the American people? They can’t afford their lives right now.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who is running for Governor, referenced the lake that straddles her own state when responding to the news, saying: “On behalf of the great Lake Superior, I call that superiorly stupid. We’ve had enough of Trump’s tariff taxes.”