He says the U.S. has made greater investments in protecting the Great Lakes than Canada.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.

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“It is the policy of my Administration to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the American people and the rich heritage of our history by naming great natural landmarks for our shared achievements. The United States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes, including the body of water currently known as Lake Ontario,” the order says in its opening paragraphs.

“Without the security and investment provided by the United States, this freshwater system would not be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use to the same extent as it is today. The United States Coast Guard supplies 9 of the 11 ice breaking vessels on the Great Lakes, securing commercial shipping lanes free of charge,” it added.

Trump then argues that the U.S. has invested nearly US$4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem over the past 10 years, while Canada has invested “far less in similar initiatives over the same period.” He then continues by justifying his decision based on alleged historical facts.

Donald Trump just signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario, Lake America #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/VFyR7bVfe5

— Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) August 27, 2026

“The body of water currently known as Lake Ontario is a tremendous asset to the United States and part of our Nation’s heritage. With the deepest parts of the Lake’s waters lying within United States territory, the United States claims most of the Lake’s volume. The Lake has long been an integral asset to American exploration, settlement, commerce, and defense.”

“From the colonial period through the early republic, the Lake served as a critical artery for American trade, commerce, and military logistics, including the establishment in Oswego of a historic fort and the first United States port of call from the St. Lawrence Seaway, shipbuilding and naval operations during the War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor and other New York posts, and the movement of goods, settlers, and later industrial cargoes that linked the interior of the United States to eastern markets and the Atlantic,” the executive order states.

“Maritime commerce on the broader Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system — of which the Lake is the easternmost and gateway segment — continues to generate substantial economic activity for the United States, supporting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in annual economic output, cargo value, and related business revenue, with our ports, carriers, and States deriving a significant share of the system’s benefits in iron ore, limestone, coal, agricultural products, and other bulk commodities.”

“Water from the Lake is used to supply nuclear, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants and to supply municipal drinking water to nearby communities. United States domestic and cross-border shipping activity on the Great Lakes system has historically underpinned regional manufacturing, steel production, agriculture, and energy supply chains in several States, reflecting the strategic and economic importance of these waters to the United States that continues to this day.”

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Lake Ontario is renamed to LAKE AMERICA! pic.twitter.com/ZFww8PexiW

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 27, 2026

After this argument, the Republican leader’s executive order announced the decision to rename the binational body of water.

“The Lake will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy. 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.”

In a conversation with the press, Trump recalled that he had already renamed the Gulf of Mexico and announced that he could also change other geographic designations.

“Now it is commonly called the Gulf of America. So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now we’re just missing an ocean. Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change it,” he said, and again threatened to impose tariffs on Canada.

“We’re going to impose tariffs on their automobiles that come in in considerable quantities, because we want to manufacture the cars here. They can manufacture their own cars if they want, and they can continue manufacturing them for Canada. But we don’t want them manufacturing cars for the USA. It’s very simple. The same thing applies to many other products,” the MAGA leader explained.

“Canada has been taking advantage of the United States in trade for a long time, unfortunately… We defend Canada for free. We get nothing in return. They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we do it, and they know it.”

Trump ended his remarks by asserting that the United States has lost “US$60 billion annually with Canada” over the past 15 years. “So we simply can’t do it anymore,” he said.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: Rapid Response 47 – EFE

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