Canadian figures have met President Donald Trump’s command to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" with ridicule rather than anger.
According to The Independent, on Saturday, August 29, Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded by unveiling a giant billboard along the Canadian shore bearing the message: "Lake Ontario. Now and Always."
Wearing a Team Canada soccer jersey, Ford posed for photos beside the structure near Grimsby, Ontario.
Measuring 24 by 12 feet (7.3 by 3.6 metres), the display rests on 6-foot (1.8-metre) legs, reaching roughly 18 feet (5.5 metres) high, about two storeys tall. The text is duplicated in French.
The action follows an executive order directing US federal agencies to adopt the name "Lake America."
It comes after months of tariffs, threats to make Canada the 51st US state, and personal attacks on its leaders, triggering a mixture of defiance and humour.
Ford noted that Trump sought the change because Ontario and Canada were "standing up for ourselves", declaring the original name would outlast the president.
“Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said in a video posted on social media.
Canadians mock Trump
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew compared Trump to an aging rock band trying to revive an old hit
Kinew said, referring to Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, “You know when a rock band is really over the hill, and you see them like in a casino playing some song from like 50 years ago. I think that’s the part of Donald Trump’s presidency we’re at now."
"Like he thought they had a real hit, a real golden oldie, with the Gulf of Mexico. And he’s trying to bring back that, and he’s trying to play the hits for his base. But I think everybody here thinks it’s a little sad and it’s not his best work," he added.
The dispute comes as relations between the longtime allies worsen over trade.
Negotiations collapsed last week, both governments accused the other of making late demands, and Canada announced retaliatory tariffs set to take effect next month.
