Premier Doug Ford has unveiled a new Lake Ontario sign on the waterfront near Hamilton.
The large blue sign erected on the shore at Fifty Point Conservation Area near Stoney Creek on Saturday afternoon reads, in white letters, “Lake Ontario Now and Always.”
“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you, the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario,” said Ford, who was wearing a red Canada Soccer t-shirt.
“We’re always going to protect our sovereignty, always. And we’ll never ever back down from a bully,” added Ford, standing next to Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff.
The ceremony followed an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” on Thursday, after a bitter public spat with Ford and the collapse of trade talks between Canada and the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has dismissed Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario, saying Canada will not recognize the change. Canadians – and many Americans – have denounced and derided the move.
Trump’s threat to rename the Great Lake came after he traded insults with Ford, who called the president a bully and told him to “kiss my ass.” Trump responded by comparing the premier to his late brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, saying Doug Ford was a less charismatic version of him.
Trump also repeatedly accused Canada of “ripping off” the United States and said his administration did not expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer.”
Lake Ontario is not the first border-straddling body of water that Trump has attempted to rename. One of his first moves after returning to office in January 2025 was signing an executive order directing the U.S. government to use “Gulf of America” instead of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name for more than 400 years, and Trump’s order only holds water in the United States.
The name Lake Ontario predates both Canada and the United States.
Historians believe Ontario has Iroquoian roots, with interpretations including “beautiful lake,” “great lake” or “sparkling water,” according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. Europeans were using the name Ontario for the lake by 1641, and it appeared on maps by 1656.
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