In Rochester, N.Y., businesses and officials defy Trump’s Lake Ontario renaming ‘stunt’

In Rochester, N.Y., businesses and officials defy Trump’s Lake Ontario renaming ‘stunt’ MATTHEW FRANK PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO Open this photo in gallery: A man walks on the sand at Ontario Beach Park on the shore of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. ADRIAN KRAUS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Don’t talk about politics in the boat. Since Leandro DaSilva launched Ontario Boat Charters in Rochester, N.Y., six years ago, that has been the rule aboard his vessels. The 49-year-old has been boating on the lake since he was 13. The water became a place where he could leave the stress of life on the shoreline. He named his boat company after the lake to share his love of it with others. But after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” Mr. DaSilva said he’s worried that the once-peaceful water his business relies on is now tied to political controversy. “Any time you bring politics into anything, it’s going to divide people, and this new name will divide people more,” he said. Google Maps changes ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ in U.S. Canadians have swiftly condemned Mr. Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario, which straddles the border between Canada and the United States, as an attack on Indigenous culture and an imposition of American nationalism on a lake whose name hasn’t changed in nearly 400 years. Across the water in Rochester, located 150 kilometres southeast of Toronto, Americans are also opposing the removal of a name that is interwoven with businesses and landmarks throughout the region. The city council of Rochester issued a proclamation on Friday to maintain Lake Ontario’s name and defy the President’s executive order. The proclamation called the “stunt” a distraction from other issues Americans face, including housing and the economy. “To ‘change’ the identity of this lake, after centuries of being known by a single name, is as childish as it is futile,” the proclamation stated. Asked to comment on Rochester’s proclamation, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said the lake’s new name reflects its heritage and place in the U.S. “As the president said, the majority of the great lake’s volume sits in United States territory,” she said in an e-mail. Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario. What does it actually change? Rochester city…