Ontario Premier Ford Erects 'Lake Ontario - Now and Always' Sign Against Trump Renaming on August 30

Ontario Premier Doug Ford installed a large bilingual sign at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Hamilton on Saturday, August 30, reading 'Lake Ontario - Now and Always' and in French 'Lac Ontario - Aujourd'hui et pour toujours.' The sign was erected in direct response to President Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America.' Ford's gesture comes amid an intensifying trade conflict between the U.S. and Canada. Trump stated that 'Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years.' In a video message recorded at the lake, Ford said: 'I'm here on the shores of beautiful Lake Ontario, a crown jewel of our province and our country.' He added: 'You may have heard that President Trump is trying to rename this lake, all because he doesn't like Ontario and Canada standing up for ourselves.' Ford stated further: 'Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario, and long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.' Ford told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett: 'He's treating us like we're Communist China here. We're the closest friends and allies that the U.S. has anywhere in the entire world, and I want to keep it that way.' Trump responded by calling Ford 'unimpressive' and a 'flunky' of Carney. Ford called Trump a 'dictator,' and told CBS News: 'I have a lot of real estate on my a**, so he has a lot of room to kiss my a**.' Trump also stated that the U.S. does not expect to be 'doing much business with Ontario any longer.' Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca criticized Trump's renaming order on Friday, calling for the executive order to be rescinded. According to CBS News, Seneca said the order violates a more than 225-year-old treaty and stated: 'The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action.' The name Ontario derives from the Iroquoian word 'onitarí:io,' which means 'lake of shining waters,' per the Center for Great Lakes Literacy as reported by CBS News. The sign's placement at a public conservation area establishes a visible symbol of provincial opposition to the renaming, though the mechanism by which Trump's executive order would formally take effect on a binational body of water remains unaddressed in the available sourcing.