The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation say that Lake Ontario is part of its homeland and U.S. President Donald Trump “cannot rename away” its history.
Chief Margaret Sault made the comment in a statement on Friday in which she vowed that “it will remain Lake Ontario,” despite Trump’s “political decision.”
“Lake Ontario is shared by Canada and the United States, but it is also part of a much older Indigenous landscape. I hope this moment encourages people to look beyond the political rhetoric and learn whose lands and waters these have always been,” Sault said. “For the Mississaugas of the Credit, it will remain Lake Ontario and, more importantly, it will remain a living part of our homeland and our responsibilities to future generations.”
The name Lake Ontario predates Canada itself.
In a post on social media on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the name “comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.’”
In her statement, Sault pointed out that Lake Ontario existed “long before Canada and the United States became the countries we know today.”
“Mississaugas of the Credit have lived with, travelled on, relied upon and cared for these waters since time immemorial. For the Mississaugas of the Credit, this is not simply a lake on a map. It is part of our homeland and part of our history as a Nation,” she said. “What concerns me most is that these conversations can happen without recognizing the Indigenous history that came before the names and borders created by colonial governments.”
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America.
However, Canadian political leaders have been consistent in saying they will not recognize the change.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” Carney said on Thursday.
The decision to rename Lake Ontario in the U.S. applies to federal geographic databases, meaning ‘Lake America’ will be used on federal government documents, correspondences, and maps in the U.S.
But Trump cannot “dictate what Canadians call that body of water, or maybe more importantly … what the international community or other countries call it," CTV News’ chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos said on Thursday.
CTV News has contacted a number of groups in the GTA that feature Lake Ontario in their name, and all have said they have no intention of recognizing the change.
In a statement, Oakville’s Lake Ontario Swim Team called the move to rename the lake in the U.S. a “cute little distraction technique” that will have no “no meaningful consequences,” including for its own branding.
The Lake Ontario Offshore Racing sailing group also weighed in on Trump’s name change in a statement.
“Canadian and American sailors share the same weather systems, the same waves, and the same hard-earned respect for what this lake can do. They also share a tradition older than any trade dispute: when a sailor is in trouble, you help. Boats on both sides of the border monitor VHF Channel 16 whenever they’re underway, and when a Mayday goes out, nobody asks what country the voice belongs to. They listen — and if they can help, they go,” they said.
“Lake Ontario can be glass one day and a gale the next, and that power has shaped a sailing culture in which Canadians and Americans race together, talk to each other on the radio, and come to one another’s aid when it counts.”
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) says it was not considering changing the name of its Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.
“The name Lake Ontario is not a political statement. It is not simply a name on a map, nor is it derived from the province,” OFAH Foundation Executive Director Matt DeMille said in a statement, noting that the name originates from Indigenous languages.
“We will continue to honour that history and meaning, both in the name of our program and in the work we do throughout the lake and its tributaries.”
DeMille noted that the program has worked with both the Canadian and American governments to restore the Atlantic salmon.
“Beyond this statement, we will not allow discussions about the lake’s name to distract from the important work of conserving and restoring one of the world’s great freshwater ecosystems,” he said.
“Names have meaning, and we are proud of the one this program carries. But the lasting measure of its success will not be the name of the program. It will be the fish returned to these waters, the habitats restored, and the generations of volunteers, students, partners, and conservationists who helped create a legacy that will endure long after the program’s name has faded from memory.”
