Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced a new and very green response to the U.S. president’s controversial order to rename Lake Ontario “American Lakes.”
On Saturday, Mr. Ford filmed a video of himself on a lake near Hamilton, Ont., where he unveiled a light blue billboard-sized sign that read “Lake Ontario” in large white letters.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Below that is a subheading that emphasizes Ford’s message about the name: “Now and Always.” This message is echoed in French, Canada’s second official language.
Ford, who has a habit of needling US presidents, explained that the sign was erected to remind people of the Great Lakes’ names “in case President Trump or anyone else forgets.”
“Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario,” Ford said in a social media video. “And long after President Trump is gone, this lake will be called Lake Ontario.”
The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
With Canada and the United States embroiled in an escalating trade war, President Trump signed an executive order Thursday that changes how the U.S. federal government references waters.
However, the order provoked a backlash from allies and critics alike. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a fellow Republican, called the move “frivolous and disappointing,” and several politicians urged Trump to return to the negotiating table rather than antagonizing Canada, a longtime ally.
Canada ranks as one of the United States’ top two trading partners and is the United States’ largest export destination as of 2024.
However, the trade tensions have sparked a public backlash in Canada, including boycotts of American products and bans on American alcoholic beverages in some provinces.
Ford, a right-wing populist, has emerged as a vocal supporter of Canada’s retaliatory action. Since taking office for a second term in 2025, President Trump has demanded that Canada give up its sovereignty and become a U.S. state, and has imposed several waves of tariffs on Canada.
Ford’s “Lake Ontario” sign marks the prime minister’s latest salvo in his ongoing feud with President Trump.
Earlier this week, Ford escalated its attacks on Trump after trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed and the United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.
“As far as I’m concerned, he can kiss my a**hole. We’re going to go all in on him,” Ford said of Trump in an interview on a Toronto radio show on Monday.
President Trump hit back at his “Truth Social” platform, deriding Ford as “less charismatic, less intelligent, and overall less memorable” than his late brother, late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
President Trump added: “Someone should get the clowns ‘in line’ or the consequences for Canada will be even worse.”
Saturday’s billboard is not Ford’s first stunt against Trump. Some of those actions had international consequences.
Last year, the Ford government spent $75 million on an anti-tariff ad featuring the voice of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan that aired in the United States.
“In the long run, these trade barriers hurt all American workers and consumers,” President Reagan can be heard saying in his message.
At the time, the United States and Canada were in the midst of trade negotiations, but President Trump called off the negotiations in protest of the advertisement. Because the ad aired before the 2025 off-year race, some members of the Trump administration compared the ad campaign to election interference.
Ford ultimately pulled the ad from broadcasts in October, saying it had achieved its goal of “starting a conversation” about “the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.”
Ford has led Ontario as head of the Ontario government since 2018. The province is considered the heart of Canada’s auto manufacturing industry, and its factories are closely integrated with U.S. automakers across the border.
Mr. Ford, a prominent Toronto conservative leader, has long been compared to Mr. Trump. His entry into local politics coincided with Trump’s first term as president.
Some Ford supporters initially rallied around the tagline “Make Ontario Great Again,” a play on President Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” The phrase was popularized during the 1980 Reagan presidential campaign.
But Ford rejected any comparisons to the U.S. president, saying Trump and his family had been involved in politics long before Trump.
