Ontario Premier Doug Ford Defies Trump With New 'Lake Ontario' Sign

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has dropped a new challenge to Donald Trump with a massive blue sign that says Lake Ontario. The gesture comes directly after the US president issued an order trying to rename the water body Lake America. On Saturday, Ford filmed himself standing near Hamilton and showed off this billboard-sized board in bright baby-blue paint. Large white letters spell out the Great Lake's proper name while a smaller text below adds the words Now and Always. The message appears in French as well since that is Canada's second official language.

Ford said he put up the sign so everyone remembers the true name even if President Trump or anyone else forgets it eventually. Long before Donald Trump took office this water was called Lake Ontario, Ford stated during his social media video clip. He added that long after Trump leaves power the lake will still carry that same historic name. The White House did not respond when Al Jazeera asked for a comment on the matter.

Tensions between Ottawa and Washington are rising fast as trade fights spiral out of control. President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to change how federal agencies refer to the Great Lake in official documents. This move drew sharp criticism from allies and critics alike across both nations. Vermont Governor Phil Scott called it petty and disappointing even though he is a fellow Republican. Many politicians now urge Trump to return to the negotiating table instead of antagonizing Canada which remains a key trading partner.

Canada ranks as one of America's top two trading partners and was the largest destination for US exports in 2024. Trade tensions have triggered a serious backlash here with boycotts of American goods spreading through several provinces. Some regions have even banned imports of US liquor entirely. Ford has become a loud voice for Canadian retaliation since Trump began his second term in 2025. The president has demanded Canada give up its sovereignty and asked for multiple waves of tariffs against the northern neighbor.

This latest sign marks another round in their long-running personal feud over trade policy. Earlier this week Ford escalated attacks after negotiations collapsed leading to fifty percent tariffs on twenty billion dollars worth of Canadian goods. He told a Toronto radio show that he could kiss Trump's a** because they would go at him full steam ahead. Trump responded by calling Ford less charismatic and intelligent than his late brother while mocking him directly. The president warned that Canada faces far worse consequences if it does not fall in line immediately.

Saturday's billboard is just one of many stunts Ford has used to push back against the US leader. Some of these actions have already caused international problems for both countries. Last year his government spent seventy-five million dollars on an anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan reading a message about trade barriers hurting American workers and consumers. Those ads aired inside the United States while talks were ongoing at that moment. Trump eventually cancelled those negotiations in protest against the advertisement campaign.

Trump administration officials linked a specific ad campaign to election interference concerns as those spots played out ahead of 2025's off-year races. Ford eventually yanked the advertisement from television screens last October because he claimed he had successfully sparked a dialogue regarding how tariffs hurt workers and businesses in his region. This provincial leader has governed Ontario since 2018, a role that places him at the heart of Canada's massive automotive manufacturing sector where local factories rely heavily on their American counterparts across the border. A well-known conservative figure in Toronto for decades, Ford once drew direct parallels to Donald Trump during his rise in politics which began alongside Trump's first term as president. Early supporters even rallied behind a slogan called "Make Ontario Great Again" that mimicked the famous phrase from Reagan's 1980 presidential run and later echoed Trump's own campaign theme. Despite these clear similarities, Ford has firmly denied any comparison with the US leader while insisting his family was deeply involved in political life long before Trump entered the national arena.