Lake Ontario merchandise turns Trump order into fundraiser to protect the lake

A lighthearted quip sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s labelling of Lake Ontario as “Lake America” has turned into a fundraiser aimed at protecting the lake itself.

Lloyd Rang, who lives in the municipality of Clarington, Ont., a short walk from Lake Ontario, describes it as peaceful and an important part of his community.

So when Trump first floated a new name for the lake amid trade tensions with Canada, Rang had a response.

“I thought about it, ‘Aw come on, like really? This again?’” he said in an interview Global News.

“Oh, my hydronyms are Lake and Ontario.”

A hydronym is the proper name for any body water. Prime Minister Mark Carney brought the term into the national conversation in an Aug. 27 statement responding to Trump’s executive order seeking to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Rang, a municipal councillor of Clarington who is not seeking re-election, thought the phrase could work on sweatshirts, T-shirts and hats.

“I’ve only ever gotten laughs,” Rang said.

However, he also saw an opportunity to turn the attention surrounding Lake Ontario into something more meaningful.

“And I thought, how can I take this idea which I think might take off, and put it to some good use that might actually protect the lake?” he said.

Rang reached out to Swim Drink Fish, a Canadian non-profit focused on protecting water, and put forward a plan to donate $10 from the sale of each item.

The organization said the attention comes as Lake Ontario faces environmental pressures that extend far beyond the political debate surrounding its name.

“Aquatic invasive species, the impacts of climate change, water levels are a big issue of concern on Lake Ontario,” said Gregory Ford with Swim Drink Fish. “We see shoreline erosion. We see flooding.”

Money raised through the merchandise will support the organization’s restoration projects, water monitoring and advocacy work.

Ford said the unusual political attention surrounding the lake has also created an opportunity to get more people thinking about its future.

“People are talking about Lake Ontario for the first time in a long time, in a really positive way, and I would like to see this keep going,” he said.

Rang said the merchandise has been successful so far, with interest coming from well beyond the shores of Lake Ontario.

“What I understand from the distributor is, they’ve had calls from as far away as Australia, Asia, and calls from all over Canada,” he said. “They’re shipping orders to the United States, even.”

For Rang, the humour behind the merchandise is also a distinctly Canadian way of responding to a political dispute with the country’s closest geographical neighbour.

“The border is sometimes like a bit of a one-way mirror where we see them more clearly than they see us,” he said.

“The ability to laugh in the face of something that’s potentially quite serious is actually a sign of strength.”