Trump Posts Map Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America

Trump shares an altered map labeling Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” days after signing an executive order directing federal agencies to adopt the new name amid a trade fight with Canada.

First Published: August 30, 2026, 11:55 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump amplified his push to rename Lake Ontario, sharing a map that labels the Great Lake bordering New York as “Lake America.”

The map identifies the water body by the new name while showing the shoreline cities of Toronto, Hamilton, Rochester and Oswego. Trump signed an executive order Aug. 27 directing the federal government to call the lake “Lake America,” according to lohud. The order gives the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names 30 days to update the federal Geographic Names Information System, according to lohud.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “pronto Hamilton Lake America Rochester Oswego” on August 30, 2026 at 11:45 AM ET.

This is Trump’s 13th message released today, and the last post was 1 hour ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 43 of his 650 posts over the last 30 days classified as Uncategorized posts.

The renaming order applies only to the U.S. government and does not require Canada or other countries to adopt the new name, according to lohud. Canadian officials have said they will continue to call the body of water Lake Ontario, according to lohud. The name “Ontario” comes from an Indigenous term, and the Center for Great Lakes Literacy traces it to the Iroquoian word “oniatarí,” meaning “lake of shining waters,” according to lohud.

President Donald J. Trump posted a map renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America on Truth Social on 08/30/2026.

The executive order frames the change as a recognition of American history and investment. The United States Coast Guard supplies 9 of the 11 ice breaking vessels on the Great Lakes, and the United States has invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, according to whitehouse.gov. The order cites the establishment in Oswego of a historic fort and the first U.S. port of call from the St. Lawrence Seaway, along with shipbuilding and naval operations during the War of 1812, according to whitehouse.gov.

Rochester, the largest U.S. city located on the lake, has rejected the new name. Rochester City Council unanimously signed a proclamation Friday affirming the city will keep the longstanding name, according to 13wham. The proclamation called the order a “desperate and flaccid stunt” and argued that the name Lake Ontario predates the Canadian province, according to 13wham. City Council President Miguel Meléndez Jr. plans to introduce a memorializing resolution calling on the Trump administration to reverse the decision, according to 13wham.

Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, covering about 7,340 square miles, and is the easternmost lake before water flows into the St. Lawrence River, according to lohud. Major cities along the shoreline include Rochester, Toronto, Hamilton and Kingston, according to lohud. The Secretary of the Interior must act within 30 days of the Aug. 27 order, placing a federal deadline in late September, according to whitehouse.gov.