Canada and New York insist calling Lake Ontario after Trump's renaming

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which lies on the US-Canada border, as "Lake America". Not surprisingly, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move.

Against the backdrop of tense US-Canada trade relations, US President Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, renaming Lake Ontario, bordered by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and US state New York to the south, as "Lake America", with the order taking effect immediately. He also hinted at his next renaming target.

"If you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific."

The gulf Trump referred to is the Gulf of Mexico, which he unilaterally renamed the "Gulf of America" after returning to the White House in January last year. The name has not been internationally recognised.

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It straddles the US border, with about 52% of its surface lying within Canada territory.

Reuters report Trump's executive order can only require US federal agencies to adopt the new name, but cannot force Canada and the international community to follow. New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that "New York won't be calling it that".

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded on social media, saying the name "Lake Ontario" has a history of over 400 years, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the US. He said "Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario - then, now, and always."