Trump’s Intimidation Tactics Take a Backseat as Canadian Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly Says ‘We’ll Fight Back’
Now he says he wants to rename Lake Ontario.
Over the last week, President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 50 percent tariffs on some of its goods and services. This caused anxiety among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who believe such strict measures could hamper the long-standing bond between the historic allies.
On Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his former hopes of making Canada the 51st US state by saying he wanted to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
That same day, Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Industry, while weighing in on Trump’s name-changing hopes, said the country would continue to call it Lake Ontario. In a clip circulated on social media, she says, “We’ll always call it Lake Ontario.”
She continued, “We’re proud of our Great Lakes. We’ve navigated the, you know, St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, for thousands of years, and it was part of a foundation of our country, and we’ll just stand up for what we have. And meanwhile, I really think that while all these shenanigans are happening, we’ll just be smart and we’ll be strategic and we’ll fight back.”
“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario. Period.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has tried to rename something. Most famously, Trump signed an executive order early in his presidency renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Under Trump’s jurisdiction, the North Carolina military base Fort Liberty was restored to its original name, Fort Bragg. Additionally, in December, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory was renamed the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
Trump’s renaming efforts also extended to adding his name to certain places. In March last year, it was reported that the United States Institute of Peace would add Donald Trump’s name to its facade, becoming the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Then, in December, his name was engraved on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, drawing considerable criticism from Americans and leading to its eventual removal.
Florida has also been enthusiastic about this. Palm Beach International Airport is now the President Donald J. Trump International Airport, and the coast-to-coast highway across Florida is now the President Donald J. Trump Highway.
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