Ford rejects Trump order renaming Lake Ontario

Ontario Premier Doug Ford planted a giant blue sign on the shore of Lake Ontario on Saturday, turning a lakeside photo opportunity into a pointed rejection of President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Great Lake “Lake America.”

The sign, erected at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Hamilton, Ontario, reads “Lake Ontario — Now and Always.” Beneath it, the message appears in French: “Lac Ontario — Aujourd’hui et pour toujours.”

“I’m here on the shores of beautiful Lake Ontario, a crown jewel of our province and our country,” Ford said in a short video posted on social media. He said the sign was installed “in case President Trump — or anyone else — forgets.”

“Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario,” Ford said. “And long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.”

Trump signed the executive order Thursday, changing how the U.S. federal government refers to the body of water that borders Ontario and New York. The move came as the United States and Canada remain locked in an escalating trade dispute. Trump has also said the U.S. does not expect to be “doing much business with Ontario any longer.”

The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

The order has drawn criticism beyond Ontario. Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca called for it to be rescinded, saying it violates a more than 225-year-old treaty and shows “blatant disrespect” for the Indigenous people who gave the lake its name. The name Ontario comes from the Iroquoian word “oniatarí:io,” meaning “lake of shining waters,” according to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.

“The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action,” Seneca said in a statement. He said the name Lake Ontario should remain as a reflection of the Indigenous peoples in the U.S. and Canada who lived around and along the lake long before either country existed.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, also criticized the renaming, calling it “petty and disappointing,” Al Jazeera reported. Several politicians have urged Trump to return to trade talks rather than antagonize Canada, a longtime U.S. ally.

The dispute over the lake’s name is unfolding alongside a deepening trade fight. CBS News reported that after failed trade talks, the U.S. began imposing 50% tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods and that Trump announced a 50% tariff on all Canadian automotive and steel imports beginning in January. Trump has claimed that “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years.”

Al Jazeera reported that the collapse of negotiations resulted in U.S. tariffs of 50% on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on about $20 billion of U.S. imports, according to CBS News.

The trade tensions have fueled backlash in Canada, including boycotts of U.S. goods and bans in several provinces on U.S. liquor. Ford has become one of the most outspoken Canadian officials pushing back against Trump’s measures.

“He’s treating us like we’re Communist China here,” Ford told CBS News last week. “We’re the closest friends and allies that the U.S. has anywhere in the entire world, and I want to keep it that way.”

Ford and Trump have exchanged sharp personal attacks as the dispute has intensified. Trump called Ford “unimpressive” and a “flunky” of Carney, while Ford has called Trump a “dictator.” In a Toronto radio interview cited by Al Jazeera, Ford said, “He can kiss my a** as far as I’m concerned. We’re going to go at him full steam.”