After the Gulf of Mexico... Lake Ontario to America

US President Donald Trump said he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada.

This potential move recalls Trump’s unilateral decision last year, when he issued an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The United States and Canada are engaged in a trade dispute, and Canada is expected to announce retaliatory measures today, following the Trump administration’s imposition over the weekend of 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, after talks between the two countries broke down.

Trump said in a social media post, published by The Associated Press today, that “the United States is seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, because we do not expect to do much business with Ontario anymore.”

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and is home to the country’s auto industry.

Rhetoric between the two countries is intensifying, with Trump urging Canadian leaders two days ago to “submit,” or face consequences “much worse” than the current tariffs.