After Trump renamed Lake Ontario, Americans aren't buying his Canada fight
Axios · LC · trust 42/100
Add Axios on Google A map labeling Lake Ontario as "Lake America" is displayed as President Trump signs an executive order during an event in the Oval Office on Aug. 27. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump's order renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" isn't floating with Americans, with a majority opposing the name change and his new tariffs on Washington's northern neighbor, per recent polling.
The big picture: After trade talks between the longtime allies collapsed last month and triggered steep new tariffs, the Trump administration has escalated its feud with Canada.
Driving the news: Reuters-Ipsos polling from late August found that more than 6 in 10 (63%) of Americans oppose Trump's executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to rename the lake, which straddles the U.S.–Canada border.
The other side: In response to the polling, the White House lambasted Canada in a statement to Axios.
Zoom out: An Economist–YouGov survey of 1,592 U.S. citizens similarly found that 68% oppose changing the lake's name — a sentiment shared by 43% of 2024 Trump voters.
Friction point: Despite the opposition, Apple and Google both changed their map labels on the body of water — for U.S. users, at least.
Zoom out: Trump's new tariffs on Canada are also unpopular: 57% oppose them, while just 20% support them, and 21% aren't sure.
The bottom line: On social media and in trade policy, the Trump administration isn't showing signs of backing off of its quarrel with Canada.
The fine print: Ipsos surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,023 adults between Aug. 28-30, 2026. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
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