Lake Ontario to Lake America – who gets to decide what goes on maps?

A geographer explains the politics and procedures behind renaming American places.

By: Innisfree McKinnon, University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 28, 2026

Words: 1,126

Last Updated: 1 month, 3 weeks ago

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By Innisfree McKinnon, University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic

On Aug. 27, 2026, President Donald Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” claiming his administration had already “notified all of the various people you have to notify.”

The name change, which Ontario Premier Doug Ford had dismissed as rhetoric when it was first suggested, comes amid an escalating trade war with Canada.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Trump …

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