Ford's Lake Ontario Sign: A Distraction from Trade Carnage
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
While Premier Doug Ford unveils a 'Now and Always' sign to defy President Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario, the real cost of the U.S. trade war looms.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford spent Saturday unveiling a large blue sign at the Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ont., which displays the phrase “Now and Always” underneath the name Lake Ontario. The move is a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order renaming the body of water “Lake America.”
According to CityNews Toronto, the renaming follows a breakdown in Canada-U.S. trade talks and a war of words in which Ford told the president he could “kiss my ass” and Trump described the premier as a less intelligent version of his late brother, Rob. While Ford told reporters the sign sends a message that Canadians will “never, ever back down from a bully,” critics suggest the gesture is mere political theatre. Ankur Patel, a witness at the event, told CityNews Toronto that the focus should be on trade negotiations, noting that Canada has more to lose as the smaller economy.
The symbolic battle masks severe economic escalation. CityNews Toronto reports the U.S. has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on approximately $28 billion of Canadian goods. In response, the federal government is implementing 15 to 50 per cent tariffs on hundreds of U.S. products starting Sept. 8.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has dismissed the name change, stating on social media that the name Lake Ontario is over 400 years old and persists “then, now and always.” Global News Toronto reports that Trump's executive order directs U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to ensure all federal government references reflect the name “Lake America.”