A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows most Americans disagree with President Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and with his administration’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
The three-day survey, which ended Sunday, found that 63% of respondents opposed renaming Lake Ontario, while just 14% supported the change. The remainder were undecided or did not answer the question.
The poll also asked about tariffs on Canadian imports. Fifty-seven percent of respondents opposed the new tariffs, compared with 20% who backed them.
Trump signed an executive order last Thursday changing the lake’s name amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. Speaking in the Oval Office, he compared the move to his earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Lake of America was something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico — we changed it — and now it’s very routinely the Gulf of America,” Trump said.
The president directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the Interior Department to update the federal Geographic Names Information System to reflect the change. The executive order described Lake Ontario as a “tremendous asset” to the United States and credited American investment for keeping the lake open for shipping, recreation and other uses.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Canada wants “to be treated like a state, but they aren’t one,” and accused the country of having ripped off the United States for decades.
“They’ve been ripping us off for decades, and it’s going to stop,” Trump wrote.
The tariff dispute has escalated in recent months. The United States imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods in late July, which took effect earlier this month. Canada responded with tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. imports.
Asked for comment on the poll results, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the administration’s approach.
“Canada has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years. President Trump promised voters that he would not allow our country to be taken advantage of anymore, which is why he is fighting so hard to protect American industries and workers. Thanks to the President’s bold leadership, we are putting America back on the map,” Rogers said.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online among 1,023 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
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