Aug 25, 2026
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Add us on GoogleMississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish responded to US President Donald Trump’s “Lake America” idea on Tuesday with a clear message: Keep Lake Ontario’s name out of your mouth.
Parrish took to X to brush off the president’s suggestion, pointing to the region’s long Indigenous history and making sure everyone knows just how much the lake means to local communities.
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“Dear Mr. Trump: Since the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation established their homes close to and along the shores of this lake, it has been our lifeblood,” Parrish posted on X. “I, and everyone in Mississauga, am proud to be living along the shores of LAKE ONTARIO. We will defend its good name!”
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Trump targets trade partner in latest naming push
Her message came right after Trump jumped on Truth Social to claim Washington was giving real thought to changing the name of the shared waterway.
“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning.
The proposal follows a pattern for the American president, who has repeatedly used geographical rebrandings to signal economic pressure and nationalist policy goals.
Earlier in his term, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to drop the name Gulf of Mexico in favour of the “Gulf of America.” That move was framed by the White House as a way to assert American sovereignty over coastal assets, and Trump is now applying similar branding tactics as cross-border trade friction grows.
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Tensions boil over as trade talks fall apart
The back-and-forth over Lake Ontario comes as trade relations between Canada and the US hit a new low. Talks between negotiators fell apart over the weekend after Washington slapped 50% tariffs on Canadian goods.
Since then, Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney have made it clear Canada is ready to hit back with its own targeted tariffs on US imports.
Parrish is no stranger to calling out decisions coming out of Washington. Last year, Mississauga city council went so far as to take down all American flags from municipal buildings, sports pads and piers along the lake after initial tariff threats.
Lake Ontario marks a natural border between Ontario and New York State. It holds deep roots for several Indigenous communities, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, who have called its western shores home for generations.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
