Ontario spends $25,000 on Lake Ontario sign amid Trump renaming dispute

Ontario Premier Doug Ford commissioned a $25,000 bilingual sign reading "Lake Ontario, now and always" and unveiled it in Winona, Ontario, as a response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that renamed the lake to "Lake America" in U.S. records and on major map services. Ford framed the sign as a reminder of the lake’s 400-year-old name, while the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Ontario director, Noah Jarvis, argued that cheaper ways exist to send a message to the U.S. president and warned against using taxpayer funds for political purposes.

The timing aligns with a provincial byelection in the Hamilton East—Stoney Creek riding, where voters are selecting a successor to retiring Progressive Conservative MPP Neil Lumsden. Polls suggest the episode may have boosted Ford’s provincial approval, though national sentiment remains less favorable toward the Progressive Conservatives.