Ontario Premier Doug Ford installs billboard reaffirming Lake Ontario name after Trump’s rename order

Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a video from the lake’s shore near Hamilton on Saturday, showing a baby-blue billboard that displays “Lake Ontario” in white letters, with the subtitle “Now and Always” in both English and French. Ford said the sign was meant to remind people of the lake’s historic name in case President Donald Trump or others attempt to change it.

“Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario, and long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said in the video. The sign follows Trump’s recent executive order that directs U.S. agencies to refer to the Great Lake as “Lake America,” a move that has drawn criticism from Canadian officials and other U.S. politicians. The White House has not commented on the Ontario response. Trade tensions between the United States and Canada have intensified, with recent U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and reciprocal boycotts of U.S. products in several Canadian provinces. Ford, a right-leaning provincial leader, has previously taken a confrontational stance toward Trump, including a 2023 advertising campaign that used former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s voice to argue against tariffs. The campaign was withdrawn after the U.S. halted trade talks, which Trump cited as a reason for ending negotiations. Ford’s latest billboard is part of an ongoing series of symbolic actions aimed at countering what he views as U.S. attempts to undermine Canadian sovereignty.