WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada. The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the US geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.

President Donald Trump says he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies.

Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.