Ontario Premier Resists U.S. Imperialism with Billboard Affirming Lake Ontario's Name
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a bold sign reading “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” in defiance of President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the lake “Lake America.” Canadian officials and Indigenous leaders condemned the move as an act of cultural erasure and imperial overreach.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a stand against American imperialism by unveiling a 24-by-12-foot billboard near Grimsby, Ontario, with the message “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” in both English and French. The sign, elevated on 6-foot legs to tower 18 feet above the ground, was revealed as Canadian leaders denounced President Donald Trump’s executive order instructing U.S. agencies to refer to the shared waterway as “Lake America.”
Ford denounced Trump’s attempt to rewrite history and erase local identity, stating, “Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew criticized Trump’s move as reminiscent of an “aging rock band” desperate for relevance, while historian Robert Bothwell warned that the U.S. seeks to subordinate Canada through such symbolic power plays. University of Toronto professor emeritus Nelson Wiseman highlighted how Canada’s refusal to be reduced to a “vassal state” infuriates Trump and his administration.
This dispute comes amid escalating tensions and broken trade negotiations, with Canada responding to U.S. aggression by announcing retaliatory tariffs. Earlier, Ford condemned Trump’s protectionist tariffs, only for Trump to dismiss Ford’s principled stance as mere “bluster.”
Indigenous leaders forcefully responded as well. Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard called the renaming an act of cultural erasure targeting Indigenous history, while Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed the lake’s Indigenous origins and its name’s endurance since before both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence.