U.S. President Donald Trump may have a new name for Lake Ontario, but Canadian coin collectors have some pretty solid evidence that says otherwise.
Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 27 directing U.S. federal agencies to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” the latest development in an increasingly strained relationship between Canada and the United States. The order directs the U.S. secretary of the interior to take steps within 30 days to change the name in the country’s Geographic Names Information System and requires U.S. federal government references to use the new name.
The order, however, doesn’t determine what Canadians call the lake — and if there is ever any doubt, collectors need only reach into their pockets.
Lake Ontario provides part of the setting for the Royal Canadian Mint’s 2026 $2 circulation coin marking the CN Tower’s 50th anniversary. The Toronto landmark rises above the city skyline, with its reflection extending into the waters of Lake Ontario — giving the lake a place on millions of Canadian circulation coins
Earlier this year, the Royal Canadian Mint released a commemorative $2 circulation coin celebrating the 50th anniversary of Toronto’s CN Tower. Designed by Canadian illustrator Carl Wiens, the reverse depicts the tower overlooking the Toronto skyline — and Lake Ontario.
In fact, there is no mistaking which lake the Mint intended to portray. In describing the design, the Mint specifically states the city’s skyline is reflected in “Lake Ontario’s blue waters.”
That makes Canada’s newest commemorative toonie a rather timely numismatic contribution to a naming debate that probably wasn’t on anyone’s radar when Wiens sat down to design the coin.
But collectors can go one better.
Back in 2014, the Mint devoted an entire collector coin to Lake Ontario as part of its five-coin Great Lakes series. The one-ounce 99.99 per cent pure silver coin features an interpretation of a bathymetric map showing the depths beneath Lake Ontario, based on Canadian Hydrographic Service data. Translucent blue enamel fills the lake while the surrounding land rises above it. Just 10,000 were struck.
Lake Ontario returned to a Canadian coin in 2021, this time alongside its four Great Lakes neighbours. The Mint’s five-ounce $50 fine silver Great Lakes coin features a detailed map of the region by Canadian Geographic cartographer Chris Brackley. Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario are all identified by name on the reverse — leaving little doubt about what Canada calls the smallest of the Great Lakes.
Lake Ontario joins Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie on the Mint’s 2021 $50 fine silver coin celebrating the Great Lakes. The detailed map identifies each of the five lakes by name, placing Lake Ontario within the vast freshwater system shared by Canada and the United States.
So while maps and government databases south of the border may soon be changing, Canada’s numismatic record isn’t going anywhere.
Prime Minister Mark Carney also weighed in following Trump’s announcement, pointing to a history considerably older than either country. Carney said Ontario comes from the Wendat word “Ontari’io,” and noted the name has been used for more than 400 years, predating both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” Carney said.
Collectors, meanwhile, have another way of settling the matter.
They can simply check their coins.