Trump's plan to rename Lake Ontario has few fans along its shorefront

Jason Livesey said one of the main topics of conversation lately at the popular seaside restaurant he owns in upstate Oswego has been President Donald Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.

To Livesey, the third-generation owner of Rudy's Lakeside Drive-in, the order is a distraction from more important problems like the future of Social Security, school costs and issues facing young people.

He said it also would carry a significant cost for businesses and local governments along the lake, many of which feature the name prominently in promotional materials.

“I think we’re all paying too much attention to this,” he said.

On Thursday, Trump ordered the Department of the Interior to change the lake’s name after U.S. negotiators failed to reach a trade agreement with their Canadian counterparts. Canadian officials said they will not recognize the name change, and the president’s order is binding on only federal entities.

But for the last several days, the proposed change has been one of the main topics of conversation among businesses and residents along the lake’s shorefront.

Livesey said his business is incorporated as Rudy’s on Lake Ontario Inc., something he said he has no intention of changing. “We’ve been dragged into a fight we don’t want,” he said.

The lake’s name predates the United States and comes from the Wendat word Ontari'io, which roughly translates to "beautiful lake."

The Wendat nation lived in the St. Lawrence River Valley when European explorers arrived in North America, and the tribe’s descendants are known today as the Wyandotte Nation.

They don't like the name change, either.

"As Chief of the Wyandotte Nation, I take offense at any effort to change the name of Lake Ontario," Chief Billy Friend said in a statement.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, who represents the largest city on the American side of the lake, called Trump’s decision a publicity stunt.

"This is just another attempt to distract the public from critical issues that deliver undue harm to low-income and middle-class consumers and small-business owners," he said.

'Negotiating tactic'

Oswego Mayor Robert Corradino said Trump’s order was all residents wanted to talk to him about during the city’s summer concert series last week.

Corradino said most of the people who spoke to him or reached out to City Hall said they thought it was a silly issue.

"This may just be a negotiating tactic on America’s part to get a better tariff deal," he said.

The city of 18,000 is heavily dependent on both the lake and its Canadian neighbors. The nearest border crossing is about 90 minutes away, and Canada sits about 55 miles across the lake from the city.

Corradino noted that both countries’ national anthems are played before events like SUNY Oswego hockey games or car races at the Oswego Speedway. And the parking lots of nearby marinas are typically filled with cars from surrounding states.

"People come from all over for fishing here," he said.

The connection between the two countries is even strong on the eastern shore of the lake in the upstate village of Sackets Harbor in Jefferson County.

Every July, the village celebrates with an annual Can-Am Festival, one of the busiest weekends of the tourist season there. This year’s turnout was decidedly low when it came to Canadian visitors, said Scott Kennett, president of the Sackets Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

“How are you going to have a Can-Am Festival without any Canadians?” he said.

Tourism hit

Canadian visitors typically make up 20% to 25% of the village’s tourism economy, with many of them riding down in their boats from Kingston, Ontario.

The number has been slashed to nearly zero the last few years, and Kennett said the Trump executive order to change the lake’s name hasn’t helped.

“It definitely is a sense of this is going to hurt," he said. "No one is quite sure what the long-term impact is going to be.”

For residents in Jefferson County and other parts of the North Country, a visit to Ottawa or Toronto for a major concert or museum is more feasible than the five-hour trip to New York City, Kennett said.

“While there's no animosity between locals in Northern New York and Canadians and vice versa, the way the federal government and the current administration is interacting with the Canadian government, it is leaving a very negative impression on Canadians,” he said.

Canadian visits to New York State dropped by more than 26% last year, according to state tourism data released last month.

Just days before Trump ordered the name change, Gov. Kathy Hochul launched a "NY LOVES CANADA" promotion on the I LOVE NY website, in an effort to boost cross-border tourism, Newsday reported.

Donna Warner-Bornheimer, who runs Toadz Bait, a fishing supply store in upstate Wolcott, said she wanted the focus to be on larger issues facing businesses along the lake, like water levels and pollution or making the switch to biodegradable packaging.

"There are other things to worry about other than the name of the lake," she said.