Trump’s Executive Order to Rename Lake Ontario as Lake America
On Thursday, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.” He claimed this change was justified since “the deepest parts of the Lake’s waters” fall within U.S territory and “the United States claims most of the Lake’s volume.” However, Lake Ontario is primarily shared with Canada, with approximately 55 percent of the lake’s surface area located within Canadian borders. The official international boundary runs through the middle of the lake.
A YouGov poll reveals that only 19 percent of Americans support Trump’s decision. This move appears to be a petty disregard of the friendly relationship with Canada. Despite criticism, Trump’s executive order finds some legal grounding, making public outrage seem almost tragic. His overall approval rating stands at 36 percent.
Many are more concerned with Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario than other serious matters, such as the 18 U.S. service members killed and 756 wounded in the conflict with Iran, the 66,000 people currently in immigration detention camps, or the inflation rise due to tariffs. Trump has been involved in corrupt engagements with wealthy individuals and has lowered FBI recruitment standards. His name appears numerous times in still-unreleased Epstein files. Trump’s family members have amassed wealth since his return to office, yet renaming Lake Ontario seems trivial compared to these issues.
Trump referenced a federal law to justify the renaming. The law allows the Secretary of the Interior and the Board on Geographic Names to ensure uniformity in geographic names across the government. These decisions should serve federal and public interests and consider the interests of federal and state agencies. The Board of Geographic Names, established in 1890, includes members from various federal agencies.
Cornell law professor Michael Dorf argues that the law requires more than just presidential orders. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the Board must assess whether the renaming serves federal and public interests. However, Trump’s previous actions, like renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, show that these criteria were ignored.
Recently, the Supreme Court overruled a precedent allowing Congress to establish agency independence from presidents, constraining Congress’s power while extending the president’s influence over agency heads. In 2024, the court granted presidents near immunity for crimes committed using their office’s powers.
If Secretary Burgum fails to comply with procedural requirements, he might face civil lawsuits, though such legal challenges would have minimal impact. President J. Conrad Seneca of the Seneca Nation argues Trump’s order violates the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. Yet Trump has bypassed Congress before, violating the Constitution, attacking Iran, kidnapping the Venezuelan President, and imposing tariffs despite the Supreme Court’s ruling favoring Congress’s tariff power.
More than 100 international law experts have accused Trump of war crimes, and complaints over tribal treaties seem trivial. As Trump sets aside the rule of law in America, if the renaming of Lake Ontario is what awakens the American public to demand accountability, it might be worthwhile. Canadians stand in solidarity.
Kimberly Wehle is a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences. She authored “How to Read the Constitution — and Why,” “What You Need to Know About Voting — and Why,” and “How to Think Like a Lawyer — and Why.”