‘It is Lake Ontario and it won’t change,’ business owners in Niagara region respond to Trump renaming lake

Now that Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America for users based in the U.S., the owners of one Niagara Falls restaurant decided to take a similar approach to their menu.

The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the lake, amid escalating tensions and a brewing trade war.

“If you can rename whatever you want for your country, well then, we can do the same thing over here,” said Richard Carpenter, co-owner of Carson’s Pizzeria.

What was once their Buffalo chicken sandwich is now listed as their “Ontario wing sauce chicken sandwich.”

“Also, the same thing with the Chicago Deep Dish, he named it the Thorold-style Deep Dish Pizza,” said co-owner Jonathon Olszewsky.

The pizzeria’s Facebook post, announcing their “little name change,” has gathered concurring reactions from Canadians across the country, though Carpenter said the menu change is temporary and more “humour-based.”

Carson’s Pizzeria is just one business in the region using small gestures like this to respond to the name change.

Katherine McMichael, owner of the shop Lady Lou Collective in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., said “it is Lake Ontario and it won’t change.”

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“It’s quite silly that somebody thinks they can change the name of the lake, especially when it was made way beyond any of us were ever here,” McMichael told CBC Niagara.

McMichael owns and curates Canadian-made art work and gift items for her store Lady Lou Collective.

She keeps a sign in her shop’s door thanking her customers for supporting Canadian businesses and Canadian-made goods.

She said while the impact of the Canada-U.S. trade war on her own business pales in comparison to those in many other industries, particularly the automotive sector, she’s still affected, as she no longer ships orders to the U.S.

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“It’s sad that we can’t do that anymore,” said McMichael, fearing that her American customers would get hit with duties. “I used to say that we’re two countries that support each other … We’re all just trying to make ends meet.”

Across the street, Shauna Dickson, owner of mom-and-pop shop Irish Design said she often uses Lake Ontario as a landmark to help customers and businesses overseas find her boutique.

Dickson, who was born and raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, said the move to change the name of Lake Ontario “felt really close to home.”

Over the years, she said she felt a shift in her interactions with customers visiting from across the border, she told CBC News. But, despite the growing tensions between the two countries she wants to make sure her American customers still feel welcome in her store.

“We had a lot of customers come in and apologize when the conversation gets brought up about where they’re from,” Dickson said.

“It feels like we’re trying to comfort people a lot to make sure they know they’re welcome here,” Dickson added. “We’re not blanketing you with one bully.”