'like Something Out Of 'saturday Night Live': Ontario Premier Laughs Off ‘lake America’ Executive Order

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Sunday addressed the rising tensions between the U.S. and Canada, including the recent rounds of personal insults he and President Donald Trump hurled at each other earlier this month amid a potential trade war.

In a wide-ranging interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Ford denounced Trump’s tariff plans; said many were feeling “bullied” by the president; and appeared to laugh off an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America.

“It was like something out of ‘Saturday Night Live' when he signed documents saying change to Lake America,” said Ford, who recently unveiled a new sign on the Canadian shoreline reading “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”

“No one's going to call it Lake of America. It's been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years. It's going to continue being Lake Ontario,” Ford added.

Ford said the attempted name change is "so disappointing" because he and his fellow Canadians "love the American people" — but he added that Canadians "differentiate between the great American people and the president."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump last week signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to change the Great Lake’s name within 30 days. It was the latest move by the president to pressure Canada into a trade agreement following the collapse of a trade deal between the two countries earlier this month.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that Canada has no plans to change the lake’s name. Meanwhile, it remains unclear what companies that make maps will choose to do, though Google has updated its Maps application to label Lake Ontario as Lake America for users in the United States.

But Trump and Ford swapped insults even before Trump signed the name change order last week. The president called Ford "unimpressive" and a "flunky" of Carney. Ford, in turn, called Trump a "dictator" and “king of bankruptcies.”

Ford on Sunday admitted things “got heated” between him and Trump, though he did not quite apologize for his remarks.

“You got to eventually stand up to someone that just continuously attacks our country and insults our country,” Ford said Sunday. “It's unfortunate that he stoops down to that level and, unfortunately, I did that day.”

As tensions continue to escalate, Trump has threatened to double the tariffs on Canadian auto imports — including cars and trucks and steel — beginning Jan. 1.

Ford on Sunday warned that the tariffs would be “devastating for both countries" as he pointed out that Canada is the largest purchaser of American vehicles.

"A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people and it’s probably the worst move he could ever do," Ford said of Trump.

Canada is retaliating with counter-tariffs ranging from 15 to 50 percent on more than 700 products.

“If I can say, everyone’s feeling bullied by President Trump," Ford said.

It’s unclear how the two countries will move forward in establishing a new trade deal; Ford said Sunday that Carney stopped negotiations with the U.S. after he told the prime minister “it was a terrible deal for Canada.”

Still, Ford added, it’s important that leaders from both countries “focus on a free trade agreement that will create more jobs, more opportunities on both sides of the border.”

“We need to get a deal that's beneficial for both countries, and you'll see both countries thrive and prosper and grow. That's what we want,” Ford said.