Most Americans don’t want Lake Ontario renamed, and most don’t want higher tariffs on Canadian goods either, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released after a three-day survey period ending Sunday.
Sixty-three percent of respondents opposed President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, while just 14% backed it. The remainder were undecided or didn’t answer.
On trade, 57% opposed new tariffs on Canadian goods, compared to 20% in favor. The poll surveyed 1,023 U.S. adults online and carries a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Trump signed the executive order renaming the lake last Thursday, in the middle of an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. Speaking in the Oval Office, he framed it as a continuation of his earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said.
The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update the federal Geographic Names Information System to reflect the change. It calls Lake Ontario a “tremendous asset” to the United States and credits American investment for keeping the Great Lakes open for shipping and recreation.
“The United States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes, including the body of water currently known as Lake Ontario,” the order states. “Without the security and investment provided by the United States, this freshwater system would not be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use to the same extent as it is today.”
Trump went further on Sunday, posting on Truth Social that Ontario wants “to be treated like a state, but they aren’t one,” and accusing Canada of exploiting the U.S. economically.
“They’ve been ripping us off for decades, and it’s going to stop,” Trump wrote.
The renaming order arrived alongside an escalating tariff fight. The U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods in late July, which took effect earlier this month. Canada retaliated with tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. imports.
Asked for reaction to the poll numbers, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the administration’s approach.
“Canada has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years. President Trump promised voters that he would not allow our country to be taken advantage of anymore, which is why he is fighting so hard to protect American industries and workers. Thanks to the President’s bold leadership, we are putting America back on the map,” Rogers said.
The public numbers tell a different story than the White House rhetoric: a clear majority of Americans want no part of either the renaming or the tariff escalation with Canada.
