ROCHESTER, N.Y. — President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, effective immediately, amid an escalating U.S.-Canada trade war.
News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski spoke with locals at Ontario Beach Park to gauge their reaction to the proposed name change. Many said they won’t be calling it Lake America.
Local pushback
“Trump, I voted for you. But get real,” Libby Jopek said.
Jopek now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, but was raised near the Lake Ontario coast.
“It’s really ridiculous. I grew up in Rochester, Lake Ontario’s always been Lake Ontario. It’s a part of Charlotte, and I’d like to see it, of course, stay Lake Ontario,” Jopek said.
Connor Descheemaker, visiting from Philadelphia, questioned why the country keeps naming geographic features after America.
“Even if you just care about, like, how and why we name things, why do we just name things the same thing over and over and over and over again?,” he said, referring to the newly named Lake America and Gulf of America.
“It doesn’t make any sense. There’s no roots to history, there’s no roots to a timeline, there’s no roots to anything like that. It feels like a really superfluous chest puffing,” Descheemaker said.
“America is great, but Lake Ontario is still Lake Ontario. You can’t change a name. Make it make sense,” Jasmine Beasley said. “Change is good, but sometimes that change is crazy.”
State and local leaders react
Several state and local leaders criticized the name change. Monroe County Executive Adam Bello posted a picture enjoying ice cream while “overlooking Lake Ontario.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York simply said in a post “New York won’t be calling it that.”
Republican candidate for governor Bruce Blakeman told News10NBC “I was hoping to rename it Lake Blake!” His team did not respond when asked for his position on the rename itself.
Support for new name
Edward Szymkowiak, a Buffalo native who now lives in Maryland and is visiting Rochester, said he doesn’t mind the new name.
“I don’t see a problem with it. I mean, right, at least half the lake is in America, right?” Szymkowiak said.
“You know, it’s something new. It’s something different…It’s a beautiful lake. So, you know, we should have it too, right? As you think about it, it kind of grows on you, I think,” Szymkowiak said.
Next steps
The name change must first be approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names before it becomes official.
Changes are expected to appear on federal maps and records within 30 days.
Canada has rejected the name change.
‘Get real’: Locals push back on Trump’s plan to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ WHEC.com.
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