Skip to content
Ford says world will always 'call it Lake Ontario' after Trump's renaming
# Ford says world will always ‘call it Lake Ontario’ after Trump’s renaming
By [Sean Previl](https://globalnews.ca/author/sean-previl/ "Posts by Sean Previl")
Global News
Posted August 29, 2026 2:30 pm
Updated August 29, 2026 5:57 pm
**3 min read**
If you get Global News from Instagram or Facebook - that will be changing. [Find out how you can still connect with us](https://globalnews.ca/news/9885400/how-you-can-find-global-news/).
Hide message bar
1:36“Lake Ontario now and forever”: Doug Ford unveils sign after Trump renames to Lake America
close videomute videounmute video
Global Player
“Lake Ontario now and forever”: Doug Ford unveils sign after Trump renames to Lake America
After a week of exchanging barbs with the U.S. president over stalled trade talks and after Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a ‘Lake Ontario’ sign along with the phrase ‘Now and Always.’ “It’s always going to be Lake Ontario, now and forever. President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario.” The Lake Ontario sign was posted on Saturday at the Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ont.
More Videos
0 seconds of 0 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
x reddit Email
Embed
Copied
Link
Copied
Live
00:00
00:00
00:00
WATCH ABOVE: “Lake Ontario now and forever”: Doug Ford unveils sign after Trump renames to Lake America
Leave a comment[Share this item on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F) [Share this item via WhatsApp](whatsapp://send?text=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F) [Share this item on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F) [Send this page to someone via email](mailto:?Subject=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0AFord%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A)See more sharing options
## ShareClose
[Share this item on Facebook\\\
facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F) [Share this item on X\\\
x](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%20https%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F) [Send this page to someone via email\\\
email](mailto:?Subject=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0AFord%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A) [Send this page to someone via email\\\
email](mailto:?Subject=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0AFord%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A) [Send this page to someone via email\\\
email](mailto:?Subject=Ford%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca&body=%0D%0AFord%20says%20world%20will%20always%20%E2%80%98call%20it%20Lake%20Ontario%E2%80%99%20after%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20renaming%20%20%7C%20Globalnews.ca%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fglobalnews%2Eca%2Fnews%2F12040398%2Fford-says-world-will-always-call-it-lake-ontario-after-trumps-renaming%2F%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A)See more sharing options
Descrease article font size
Increase article font size
Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivered a message to U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, revealing a new [Lake Ontario](https://globalnews.ca/tag/lake-ontario) sign and saying the lake’s name is “always going to be Lake Ontario.”
The reveal of the sign in Winona, Ont., east of Hamilton, came as the U.S. president maintains his stance that Lake Ontario has been renamed [Lake America](https://globalnews.ca/tag/lake-america) after he signed an executive order earlier this week.
“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario,” Ford told reporters. “I received numerous calls from governors, they’re saying we’re always going to call it Lake Ontario, and obviously Canada’s always going to call it Lake Ontario.
“We’re resilient and we’re strong Canadians and we’re always going to protect our sovereignty, always and we’ll never, ever back down.”
Story continues below advertisement
7:52Linguistics professor analyzes Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario
[Stick to the Facts \\\
\\\
Add Global News as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our stories in your search results. \\\
\\\
](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=globalnews.ca)
Trump signed an order directing the U.S. government to refer to Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, as “Lake America,” in his latest shot against Canada after trade talks fell apart last week.
## Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.
Sign up for breaking National newsletterGet Started
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' [Terms and Conditions](https://www.corusent.com/terms-of-use/) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.corusent.com/privacy-policy/).
He also criticized Canada’s trade policies while speaking in the Oval Office, but insisted he loved the country and that renaming the lake was not about sending a message.
Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the change on Thursday, saying the name of Lake Ontario would remain “now and always.” Those words also appeared on the sign unveiled Saturday.
Carney also noted in a statement that the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and “comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.'”
0:46‘Lake Ontario, that’s gone’: Trump says ‘a good pen and some intelligence’ enough to change lake’s name
Some U.S. politicians and MapQuest criticized and ridiculed the name change, with the mapping company saying it would not change the name on its maps.
More on CanadaMore videos
- [Why some Canadian website maps show ‘Lake America’ instead of Lake Ontario](https://globalnews.ca/news/12041798/google-maps-canadian-websites-lake-america/)
- [Committee releases final report into 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting](https://globalnews.ca/news/12041958/committee-final-report-ns-mass-shooting/)
- [Deceased man identified by Winnipeg police, family notified](https://globalnews.ca/news/12042031/man-found-unresponsive-identified-winnipeg/)
- [Judge grants injunction suspending new Ontario bail payment requirements](https://globalnews.ca/news/12041910/ontario-bail-injunction/)
Story continues below advertisement
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, took to social media to post a video of himself at a McDonald’s restaurant signing a fast food napkin to decree Lake Michigan would now be called “Lake Wisconsin.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also posted a photo of Trump Tower in Chicago, with the president’s name crossed out and the name “Natalie” featured, saying it was now called “Natalie Tower.” It appeared to be a reference to Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s closest aides.
The president has not backed down on the renaming, posting multiple images and videos on his Truth Social platform Friday and Saturday. In one such video, AI-generated Canada geese with what resembles Trump’s hairstyle march with weapons while the words “Lake America” appear below them.
Trump’s executive order says the U.S. lays claim to most of the “volume” of Lake Ontario and is mostly responsible for its security, economic activity and environmental stewardship.
The order directs U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to work with the Board on Geographic Names to ensure all U.S. federal government references to Lake Ontario, “including on executive department and agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications,” reflect Trump’s name change.
Democrats, who are running to take control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, lambasted the move for not addressing Americans’ priorities.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was putting his own grievances first and “Americans last.”
Story continues below advertisement
“Inflation increasing. The Iran war raging on with no end in sight. A trade war with Canada. And what does Trump want? To rename Lake Ontario,” [he wrote on social media.](https://www.facebook.com/senschumer/posts/inflation-increasing-the-iran-war-raging-on-with-no-end-in-sight-a-trade-war-wit/1648507813300482/)
_–with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Touria Izri_
[Journalistic standards](https://globalnews.ca/pages/principles-practices/)
Comment
Report an error
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.