According to a report from the Times of India, former US President Donald Trump has purportedly signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for the purposes of US geographic identification. The report claims that this directive would mandate the use of the new name within US federal agencies, while acknowledging that the administration lacks the legal authority to force Canada to adopt the change for the portion of the lake under its jurisdiction.
No official confirmation of such an executive order has been issued by the US government, nor have any major international news organizations verified the existence of this directive. The report further suggests that this action follows a similar, also unverified, move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America' for domestic government use.
Geographic naming conventions in the United States are typically managed by the United States Board on Geographic Names, which maintains the Geographic Names Information System. There is currently no record of a name change for Lake Ontario in federal databases. Given the significant diplomatic and legal implications of renaming a major binational body of water, the absence of official documentation or corroborating reports from major wire services raises questions regarding the accuracy of the claim.
The claim originates from a single report that lacks corroboration from any major international news wire or official US government documentation. Given the highly unusual nature of a president unilaterally renaming a major international body of water, the lack of secondary confirmation suggests this may be a misinterpretation of a minor administrative action or a fabrication.
No corroborating trusted sources found.
Original report: Times of India