August Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 63% of Americans oppose the renaming
The Oswego County Legislature voted unanimously at a recent meeting to denounce President Trump’s order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for U.S. federal agencies. At the session, constituents wearing Lake Ontario shirts, hats and handmade signs delivered remarks defending the body of water a few blocks down the road. The chamber then passed its denouncement.
“We know where our constituents stand. They want it to stay the same, obviously,” said John Martino, the legislature’s Republican majority leader and a Trump supporter. “It’s Lake Ontario. It’s going to be Lake Ontario. That’s it.”
The federal renaming, issued during a trade fight with Canada, follows a similar change Trump made in January 2025, when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America.” Google and Apple Maps updated their maps to “Lake America” for U.S. users days after the latest order. But while many Trump supporters and officials in Gulf Coast states backed the earlier renaming effort, the reception along the New York shoreline has been different.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said “New York won’t be calling it that,” and many red-leaning residents on the lake agreed, marking what the Wall Street Journal reporting described as “a rare moment of bipartisanship in the Trump era.”
Lakeside business owners said the name is bound up with regional identity and with cross-border ties to Canada. “No one’s switching over to Lake America. Nobody is. No one’s saying that,” said Ryan Cohen, who manages Lake Ontario Mariners Marina in Henderson. “Lake Ontario is part of our regional identity. It’s a big part of our lives and it’s been that way for 400 years.” Cohen said he considers himself apolitical, does not vote, and was surprised when neighbors he described as “hardcore MAGA” supported him in leaving marina signage unchanged. Upsetting Canadian customers, whom Cohen called “friendly neighbors,” was also out of the question, he said.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican who represents most of the towns bordering the lake in Congress, has tried to stay out of the controversy, saying most counties are sticking with the current name because they aren’t sure the federal change is permanent. “Trump likes to troll people, put out name changes,” Tenney told TMZ. “We’ll see how long this lasts.” In a statement, Tenney cited her district’s longstanding friendship and economic ties with Canada and called for Canada to work with Trump toward “a fair relationship.”
Nationally, an August Reuters/Ipsos poll found 63% of Americans oppose the renaming and 14% support it. More Republicans were against the renaming than in favor, the poll found. The feelings run strongest in the towns on the lake.
Some Trump supporters in the lakeside region said they agree with the president but use Lake Ontario in conversation to avoid confusion. Ivan Justice, a 23-year-old bridge maintenance worker who gathered with friends on a recent Friday in Pulaski to fish in the Salmon River, said he agrees with “everything Trump does” and supports the name change. But he uses Lake Ontario in conversation to avoid confusion, employing “Lake America” only when he wants to aggravate people.
“It’s still water. The name of it really doesn’t matter to me. To a lot of people here, it does matter,” Justice said.
John Hagner, fishing upstream, said he initially called it “Lake America.” “I did, and two old ladies started screaming at me,” Hagner said. “I was joking around, but people here take it absolutely serious.” Hagner, a longtime Trump supporter, said he is sticking with Lake Ontario and that the president has more important things to focus on. “I just want him to get this war over, and the gas prices come down,” Hagner said.
The White House defended the renaming as part of the administration’s broader posture toward Canada. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Canada “has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years” and that Trump’s leadership is “putting America back on the map.”
In towns along the lake, American flags fly in front of many houses, with USA250 and MAGA flags mixed in. Roadside signs advertise firewood, free kittens and raw milk. Others caution drivers to slow for horse-drawn buggies that skirt in and out of the tree line.
The name question is also showing up in schools and at local events. Jonna St. Croix, a social studies teacher at Sackets Harbor Central School, calls it Lake Ontario in class, following state curriculum. “The lake is their backyard. It’s their playground. It’s almost a character, and so it’s part of us,” St. Croix said. “It’s not just from a proclamation.”
At Sackets Harbor’s marathon on Sept. 6, a spectator drew “Lake America” in chalk in front of the lake, alongside doodles cheering on the runners. Another chalk artist soon crossed it out and wrote “Lake Ontario” in bolder lines.
The naming dispute has produced brisk business for some. Amanda Miller, who operates Lake Ontario Gift Shop in Sackets Harbor, said she sold out of Lake Ontario sweatshirts — products that had sat on shelves for months — in three days. Customers asked, “Where’s anything that you have that says Lake Ontario?” Miller said. She is ordering more products to keep up and has reassured customers that she is not changing the name of her shop.
Bob Ruggio, a Navy veteran and photographer from Oswego, runs a Facebook page called Friends of Oswego, where he has posted lake photos since 2016 to “spread positivity.” Comments on his posts have turned into a debate over the name. “It’s more like who can trigger who,” said Ruggio, an independent voter. “It’s Lake Ontario…but I don’t post the name Lake Ontario anymore.”