President Donald Trump escalated his war of words with Canada on Tuesday morning, floating a U.S. push to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and accusing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of lying about the Trump administration’s position on French-language protections.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to [sic] doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning on Truth Social.
Trump followed with another broadside aimed directly at Carney, rejecting claims the U.S. had sought concessions affecting the French language during the countries’ recently collapsed trade negotiations.
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“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” Trump wrote. “In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing.”
“This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec,” Trump added. “I love French Canadians!”
The posts marked the latest escalation in an increasingly bitter dispute between Washington and Ottawa after trade negotiations broke down late last week, triggering a new round of tariffs and threats of retaliation between the longtime allies.
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“We were not prepared to compromise on the protection of the French language and our culture,” Carney said Saturday while announcing the suspension of negotiations, adding that those issues were “never on the table” for Canada.
Carney doubled down Monday while in Quebec, arguing that French-language protections viewed by the U.S. as trade irritants were fundamental rights in Canada. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, however, disputed Carney’s characterization, calling the French-language dispute a “funny, fake story” and saying the U.S. objection instead centered on requirements affecting American streaming companies.
Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and a key hub in the tightly integrated U.S.-Canadian auto industry. Lake Ontario is shared by Ontario and New York, making Trump’s proposed name change another provocative shot at America’s northern neighbor as the economic standoff deepens.
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The president has previously used geographic names to make a political point, ordering the change of Gulf of Mexico to be called Gulf of America.
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Maine on Monday and delivered a lengthy defense of the administration’s hard-line approach toward Canada, accusing Ottawa of treating Chinese goods more favorably than products coming from its American neighbor.
“They treat Chinese goods more fairly than they do the goods that come from the people of Maine: It’s insanity,” Vance said during a question-and-answer session Monday in Brewer. “And what we’ve said to Canada is stop it.”
Vance said the two countries had appeared close to an agreement before negotiations fell apart, blaming Canadian officials for bringing what he described as unreasonable demands to the table at the last minute.
Trump separately announced Monday that 50% tariffs on Canadian automobiles, auto parts, trucks and steel would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, accusing Canada of years of unfair treatment of American producers.
“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” Trump wrote Monday.
Despite the sharpening rhetoric, Vance left open the possibility Monday that Washington and Ottawa could eventually return to the negotiating table.
“I think that we should have a deal,” Vance said. “We expect fairness in our trade policy.”
