The trade war

Trump takes on Canada: ‘Lake Ontario will be called Lake America’

Trump takes on Canada: ‘Lake Ontario will be called Lake America’. Tensions between the two countries are mounting amid a war of words: on Monday, Trump ordered Canadian leaders to ‘fall into line’, warning them that otherwise they would face ‘much WORSE’ consequences than the current tariffs

Il Presidente Usa Donald Trump REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst REUTERS

2' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

Donald Trump has threatened to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America as part of the trade dispute with Canada. “The United States is seriously considering renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America, as we do not expect to do much business with Ontario in future,” he said on his social media platform, Truth.

Such a move by Trump is reminiscent of the Republican president’s announcement last year that he had, by executive order, renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.

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The Canada-US tariffs row

The United States and Canada are embroiled in a trade dispute: the tycoon’s latest move follows the Trump administration’s decision – announced at the weekend – to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods worth $20 billion, following the breakdown of negotiations between the two countries. A decision to which Ottawa was quick to respond, stating in turn that, from 8 September, tariffs ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent will be imposed on a range of US products.

At a press conference, the Canadian Finance Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, spoke of tariffs worth 20 billion dollars, or 28 billion Canadian dollars , on steel, dairy products, household appliances and a range of other goods originating in the US.

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

Verbal, virtual and commercial tension

Tensions between the two countries are escalating through a series of statements: on Monday, Trump urged Canadian leaders to “fall into line”, warning them that otherwise they would face “much WORSE” consequences than the current tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of seeking to subjugate Canada.

Trump also threatened new 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian vehicles, car parts and steel, whilst Carney stated that the US trade demands demonstrate Washington’s desire to “destroy our key industries”, including the automotive, steel and aluminium sectors.

The economies of Canada and the United States are closely intertwined; the relationship between the two countries is characterised by deeply integrated supply chains in the automotive, energy, agricultural and manufacturing sectors; this means that a prolonged trade dispute could prove costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border.

Trump also touched on another issue relating to Canada. In a separate post, the President wrote: ‘I would never interfere with French-speaking Canadians! In fact, I’ve never even thought of doing something so stupid. This lie was invented by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support – which he has now completely lost – from the people of Quebec. I love French-speaking Canadians!’ Trump is referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the fact that one of the reasons the US-Canada tariffs fell through at the last minute was reportedly linked to English-French bilingualism in Quebec, with Canadian negotiators rejecting the US proposal to remove the requirement for labels to be in French as well, in order to allow US products to be exported to the country.

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