President Donald Trump has renamed Lake Ontario Lake America, and it’s making waves on the internet.
After tense trade negotiations between the US and Canada collapsed and the US imposed new 50% tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods, Trump turned to another tool in his arsenal: rebranding.
On Thursday, Trump issued an executive order rename Lake Ontarioone of the Great Lakes that straddles the US-Canada border as Lake America. Like the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X, the name predates the Confederation of Canada and the American Declaration of Independence. “The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontario’io, which appropriately means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big,’” he wrote.
The name change follows a similar move Trump made last year when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, a change that Mexico and other countries including Britain and China have refused to adopt.
After Thursday’s executive order, it didn’t take long for the internet to respond with memes. Here are the 10 best.
The online mapping service MapQuest allows users to name the lake whatever they want
Some people responded to Trump’s rebranding with a few ideas of their own
Others pointed out a tricky acronym
The name inspired colorful comparisons
Lake America sounds like what you would call it if the Mall of America were flooded by a burst water pipe.
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) August 27, 2026
Lake America sounds more like a movie about a summer camp for kids. It could be a comedy or a B-movie horror.
— Emina Melonic ☕🎥 🎞😺 🖖 (@EminaMelonic) August 27, 2026
The Gulf of America didn’t bother me that much, but Lake America sounds like a water slide park where everyone gets tetanus.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 27, 2026
As far as Carney is concerned, it will be called Lake Ontario, “now and forever,” he wrote on X.
