Americans aren’t thrilled with President Donald Trump’s decision to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, according to new polling. Even Republicans are wary of the move.
Ipsos polling of 1,023 general population adults conducted from Aug. 28 through Aug. 30 found that just 14% of respondents supported Trump renaming the lake via executive order. That included 6% of Democrats, 8% of independent or “something else” respondents and 3% of Republicans.
The Economist/YouGov polling of 1,592 U.S. adults from Aug. 28 through Aug. 31 found that 17% of participants approved of re-naming the lake. That included 2% of people who voted for Democrat former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last election, 4% of liberal voters, 9% of moderate voters, 5% of Democrats and 8% of independents.
While Trump’s MAGA supporters and conservatives were more likely to approve of the move, support still didn’t reach higher than 50% in any of the conservative category breakdowns of the The Economist/YouGov poll. Just 36% of Trump voters supported it, along with 37% of conservatives, 46% of MAGA supporters and 37% of Republicans.
Lake Ontario is part of the Great Lakes, and is the “O” in the “HOMES” acronym to remember Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Superior. It is bordered by the U.S. and Canada.
“Ontario” comes from the Iroquois word “kanadario,” which translates into “sparkling” water, according to the government of Canada.
“The earliest recording of the name Ontario was in 1641 where it was used to describe a mass of land on the north shore of the easternmost part of the Great Lakes,” it said. That’s more than 100 years before the founding of the U.S.
According to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, “Indigenous peoples have long been stewards of Lake Ontario (Niigani-gichigami), and they help ensure the lake’s life-giving resources remain abundant and cared for much like family. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) encompasses the dynamic relationship between all living things and the environment they share.”
Trump previously changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Following the Lake America executive order, both Apple and Google have updated their map programs to reflect the new name.
Even though Trump’s trade war with Canada is contributing to life getting expensive for Americans, as an expert told Audacy this week, the polls show that people are even more sour on the Lake Ontario name change than the tariffs themselves. Ipsos’ poll found that just 20% of respondents support placing new, additional tariffs on Canada (compared to the 14% who supported the Lake America change) and The Economist/YouGov’s polling found 26% support for the tariffs (more than the 17% who supported the Lake America change).
Support for the tariffs didn’t reach 50% among Republicans in Ipsos’ polling, with just 44% who said they supported new tariffs on our northern neighbors. Only 5% of Democrats supported the tariffs, along with 14% of independents.
The Economist/YouGov polling showed that 59% of Trump supporters approve of the tariffs, along with 58% of conservatives, 70% of MAGA supporters and 57% of Republicans. Support was at 2% among Harris voters, 5% among liberals, 16% among moderates, 4% among Democrats and 16% among independents.
Last week, MS NOW host Chris Hayes blasted Trump’s Lake America executive order as “deeply pathetic,” arguing that what Americans need is action to bring prices down.
“Lake America, you sad weirdo? Nobody wants this,” said Hayes. “You know what they want? Cheaper gas.”
Gas prices have been higher than $4 per gallon for most of the summer amid military conflict between the U.S. and Iran that triggered blockades of the Strait of Hormuz.
When asked about the impact the tariffs between the U.S. and Canada will have on their own financial situation, only 4% of the Ipsos poll respondents said they believe the tariffs will have a “mostly positive” impact. In fact, hopes for a mostly positive impact were in the single digits among Republicans (6%), Democrats (3%) and independent/something else (3%) respondents.
In response to the recent polling, spokesperson Taylor Rogers provided a statement to Axios.
“Canada has been a bad neighbor by ripping off our country for years,” wrote Rogers. “President Trump promised voters that he would not allow our country to be taken advantage of anymore, which is why he is fighting so hard to protect American industries and workers.”
