U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to change the name of a large lake on the border with Canada to an American-style name. With the United States and Canada trading large-scale retaliatory tariffs after trade talks collapsed, many said the Trump administration's signature hard-line stance to force the other side to yield by even disputing border place names was on full display.
On the 25th (local time), Trump posted on the social network Truth Social and hinted at changing the name, directly mentioning Lake Ontario, which serves as the two countries' border. "We don't think we'll be doing much more business with the province of Ontario," Trump said. "The United States is seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America," he said. He also released a map marking the current lake name with a red X and writing in the new name. Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, borders New York state and is a key economic corridor on which roughly a dozen U.S. states rely for exports.
Trump went on to say, "Canada has exploited the United States for decades and has driven countless great American corporations into bankruptcy," adding, "We have done business with many countries, but by far it is the hardest and most unreasonable country to deal with." He further expressed strong displeasure, saying the United States has suffered an average annual loss of $6 billion over the past 10 years. He warned, "Canada is not a U.S. state and will no longer enjoy such privileges."
On the 23rd, the U.S. government launched a full-scale trade war by imposing an additional 50% tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports. Canada also moved immediately with a hard-line response. That day, Canadian authorities announced they would impose retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on $20 billion worth of U.S. products, including steel, aluminum, and motorcycles, starting on the 8th of next month. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, "Canada will never accept a negotiation posture that reduces it to a U.S. subsidiary," and added, "We will resume talks only when the United States shows the right attitude."
Trump is pressing ahead with a rough offensive, delving into Canada's internal politics. The day before, Prime Minister Carney criticized the U.S. side for trying to weaken a French-language protection policy Canada is pursuing at the negotiating table. In response, Trump said, "I will never interfere with Canadians speaking French." Trump then disparaged Carney, calling it "a made-up lie to regain completely lost political support among Quebec residents."
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of Trade, appeared on CNBC that day and offered a brief reply: "We decided months ago not to respond one by one to social media posts the U.S. administration puts up every day."