OLDCORN: Ignore Trump’s ‘Lake America’ stunt – the real battle is over tariffs and trade

President Donald Trump has done it again. With a Sharpie and the theatricality of a reality TV host, the US President signed an executive order on Thursday officially renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” for American "federal use." Trump scribbled on a map, crossed out the name Canadians and Americans have used their entire lives, and declared, “Lake Ontario, that’s gone.” Well, “Lake Ontario” appeared for the first time on a map in 1656 and will continue to be on maps for centuries to come.Forgive us if we don’t tremble with fear. The water itself has not changed. The fish do not care. And no Canadian is going to start calling a great lake by a name born from a pouty-faced Trump.This is not diplomacy. It is a distraction. While Canadians debate the absurdity of a foreign leader renaming a shared geographic feature, the White House is moving ahead with economic policies that will do real damage to Canadian families. The Trump administration has slapped 50% tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods, and Ottawa has responded with its own countermeasures. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade negotiations, calling the latest American demands “unfair” and “uneconomic.” That should be the only story dominating headlines.Instead, we are treated to the spectacle of a map doodle..Let’s not fool ourselves. Trump knows exactly what he is doing. The “Lake America” gambit is a provocation, plain and simple. It follows the same playbook as his 2025 decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” That move, too, had no legal force beyond American agencies. But it generated endless media coverage, infuriated his opponents, and thrilled his base. It was free advertising for his brand of nationalism. This latest stunt is no different. He wants Canada to lose its temper. He wants premiers to lash out. He wants the Prime Minister to spend political capital responding to a joke. While the frustration is understandable, this is not a bar fight. It is a negotiation with the most powerful economy on Earth.Canada must not take the bait. The proper response to the “Lake America” stunt is a shoulder shrug. Let American federal agencies update their databases. Let Trump pose with his Sharpie. Canadians will continue to call it Lake Ontario because that is its name. We do not need to pass a law or issue a sternly worded statement. We need to ignore the tantrum and focus on the ledger.The real battle is over the future of continental trade. The 50% tariffs are a genuine threat to Canadian manufacturing, agriculture, and resource sectors. American buyers will look elsewhere if Canadian goods become too expensive. Our own counter-tariffs, while necessary to show resolve, will raise costs for Canadian consumers and businesses. Every week this drags on, investment dollars flee to safer jurisdictions. Carney must get back to the table — or find alternative partners — but he cannot do that while distracted by a “geography lesson” from the Oval Office.The conservative movement in Canada should be leading this charge. We are the party of common sense and economic growth. We should not waste a single minute debating what Americans call a lake. .Let the Liberals twist themselves in knots over symbolism. Let the social media warriors mock the name from sunrise to sunset. Our job is to demand a plan for jobs, pipelines, and trade infrastructure that does not depend on the whims of one man in Washington.Trump’s order has zero authority over Canadian usage. The shared Great Lake remains Lake Ontario in Canada, and that is final. But the tariffs and the collapsed negotiations are not symbolic. They are concrete. They affect paycheques, grocery bills, and the future of entire industries. A serious country does not chase every shiny object thrown by its neighbour.So here is a message for our political leaders: stop tweeting about "Lake America." Don't hold press conferences to denounce the renaming. Stop giving Trump the attention he craves. Instead, put your energy into securing a free trade deal that protects Canadian workers. If that proves impossible, build new trade corridors to Europe and Asia. Either way, focus on substance, not spectacle.The lake will still be there when the noise dies down. The question is whether our economy will be too.Canada should ignore the map, ignore the marker, and get back to work. The real fight is not over water. It is over our prosperity.

OLDCORN: Ignore Trump’s ‘Lake America’ stunt – the real battle is over tariffs and trade

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