CN Tower mocks Trump’s ‘Lake America’ declaration with new window signs - Newsweek

Toronto’s CN Tower is displaying a bilingual message declaring "Lake Ontario Always" following President Donald Trump’s order to rename it "Lake America."

A photograph provided to Newsweek shows the words across a window at the top of the tower overlooking the waterfront, alongside the French wording "Lac Ontario" and "pour toujours" in late October.

The display features large red lettering and a blue illustration of the lake, with Toronto’s buildings and shoreline visible beneath it.

Its installation date and the reason behind the wording have not been confirmed. Asked when the sign was installed, a CN Tower spokesperson told Newsweek: "The CN Tower has been featuring window clings, graphics and storytelling that celebrate points of interest around the Tower, nature and the history of the surrounding area for many years.

"Visitors to the CN Tower enjoy a spectacular view of Lake Ontario, a name of Wendat origin that is more than 400 years old."

The CN Tower has also used the message in its official social-media communications recently.

A LinkedIn post celebrating a September flyby by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s aerobatic flight demonstration team the Snowbirds refers to "Toronto and Lake Ontario (always)," alongside the French wording "lac Ontario (pour toujours)."

The display comes during the CN Tower’s 50th anniversary year. Canada Lands Company, which owns the CN Tower, launched the celebrations on January 21 by unveiling a C$21 million renovation of its Lower Observation Level.

The refurbishment introduced interactive video walls showcasing Canadian artists, a new glass floor and year-round indoor viewing space.

An attraction called OverView offers visitors a vantage point 113 stories above Toronto, looking out over the tower’s Radome.

The work followed a 2018 renovation of the Main Observation Level that introduced floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

The message provides a striking Canadian backdrop to Trump’s effort to change the name used by the U.S. federal government for the lake shared by the two countries.

Trump signed Executive Order 14422 on August 27, directing the Interior Department to adopt "Lake America" and update federal geographic records.

The order also called for federal maps, contracts and communications to reflect the change.

The order describes the lake as an important American economic and historical resource. It directs the interior secretary to coordinate the renaming with the Board on Geographic Names.

Those instructions concern U.S. federal naming practices. They do not establish that Canadian institutions have adopted the alternative name.

Canadian resistance to the change has already included a separate public display.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large sign near Grimsby reading "Lake Ontario. Now and Always."

That sign is distinct from the window display photographed at the CN Tower.

It comes as the Niagara Parks Commission decided to light the Niagara Falls in blue on November 3rd amid a streak of Democratic wins across the United States.

The official illumination schedule from the commission says the Falls were scheduled to be lit in teal from 10pm until 10:15pm.

The Niagara Parks Commission has not yet commented on its reasoning for that particular colour, but the falls are illuminated in various colours to represent various causes or other things to celebrate every evening.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Trump’s move in an August 27 post on X, insisting the lake’s established name would endure.

"Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario—then, now and always," he wrote.

Lake Ontario, the smallest of North America’s five Great Lakes by surface area, straddles the U.S.- Canada border between New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The lake is a vital shipping gateway, connecting the wider Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Toronto, Hamilton and Rochester are among the cities along its shores.

The name Ontario has Indigenous origins and was recorded around 1641, predating both Canada and the United States. Canadian government sources offer differing translations, including "sparkling water" and "vast body of water." The province shares its name with the lake.

Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Tony Phillips.