Ontario Premier Doug Ford Resists Trump’s Nationalist Renaming of Lake Ontario
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In a bold stand against American imperialism, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a billboard asserting the true name of Lake Ontario, directly challenging President Trump’s xenophobic executive order to rename it “Lake America.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a video from the lake’s shore near Hamilton on Saturday, where a baby-blue billboard proudly proclaims “Lake Ontario” in white letters, with the subtitle “Now and Always” in both English and French. This act serves as a pointed reminder of the lake’s historic and Indigenous-rooted name, especially in the face of President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to erase local and international identities by unilaterally ordering U.S. agencies to call it “Lake America.”
Ford declared in the video: “Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario, and long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.” His words underscore the resistance to U.S. nationalist overreach and the importance of protecting Canadian—and by extension, global—sovereignty against right-wing populist aggression.
Trump’s executive order has drawn sharp criticism from Canadian officials and progressive U.S. politicians who see it as yet another example of the Trump administration’s disregard for international cooperation and respect. The White House, predictably, has refused to comment on Ontario’s principled response.
This episode comes amid escalating trade tensions, with the U.S. imposing punitive tariffs on Canadian goods and Canadian provinces responding with boycotts of U.S. products. Ford, despite his own conservative leanings, has at times opposed Trump’s reactionary policies, as seen in his 2023 campaign using Ronald Reagan’s voice to denounce tariffs—a campaign that was only withdrawn after Trump sabotaged trade talks. Ford’s latest symbolic gesture is part of a broader struggle against U.S. attempts to undermine Canadian autonomy and the dignity of its people.