Ford unveiled the large bilingual sign Saturday at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario, near the western end of Lake Ontario. The sign reads “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” in English and French, presenting a highly visible response to Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order directing the U.S. government to use “Lake America” in federal references. The U.S. action does not change Canada’s official name for the lake, and Canadian officials have said they will continue using Lake Ontario. The lake is one of North America’s five Great Lakes and forms part of the border between Ontario and New York.

The naming dispute is unfolding against a broader deterioration in Canada-U.S. relations. Trump’s order followed a breakdown in trade negotiations and additional U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, with Canada responding with measures of its own. The disagreement over the lake also has historical significance: the name Ontario predates both modern Canada and the United States and has Indigenous origins. The latest exchange is largely symbolic, but it illustrates how disputes between the two countries have expanded beyond trade and into questions of national identity, geography and sovereignty.