US President Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid Canada trade dispute

Exam-focused facts from the 29 August 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 27, 2026, renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'.
The order directs the Interior Secretary to update the Geographic Names Information System to reflect the new name.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that Canada will continue to call the lake Lake Ontario.
This is the second such renaming by Trump, following the earlier change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The renaming occurred amid a breakdown in US-Canada trade talks, with Trump imposing 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.
Canada responded with 'dollar for dollar' retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on US imports, though some were later pared back.