Iqaluit council rejects renaming sewage lagoon ‘Trump Lake’
Coun. Kim Smith’s motion fails to find seconder
Deputy Mayor Kim Smith signals “elbows up” as she calls for Iqaluit to symbolically rename the sewage lagoon “Trump Lake” in dishonour of United States President Donald Trump. Her motion was rejected on Tuesday evening when no councillor seconded. (Photo by Daron Letts)
A call to rename Iqaluit’s sewage lagoon Trump Lake died without a vote after no one seconded deputy Mayor Kim Smith’s motion during Tuesday night’s council meeting.
“I figure if (U.S. President Donald Trump) can rename landmarks, then so can we — and we can share a very polite Canadian giggle while we do,” Smith said as she presented her motion, adding no sign would be erected nor any public funds used if the lagoon were to be “symbolically renamed.”
Trump has signed executive orders to rename two bodies of water — the Gulf of Mexico in February 2025 and Lake Ontario in August. The new names, Gulf of America and Lake America respectively, are officially changed in the U.S. government’s Geographic Names Information System, and all federal departments and agencies must follow suit. But the change does not apply outside the United States.
In her roughly three-minute pitch, Smith expressed her opposition to several of Trump’s actions, including his threats to take over Greenland, the Iran war, and the ongoing trade war with Canada.
The U.S. president has repeatedly mused, joked and threatened to make Canada the “51st state,” and his aggressive use of tariffs has caused economic uncertainty across the nation.
Coun. Kyle Sheppard was the only other councillor to speak to the motion.
He said that while he shares Smith’s “disdain for the current U.S. administration,” he embraced a sentiment expressed in a 2016 campaign speech by former First Lady Michelle Obama: “When they go low, we go high.”
Smith told Nunatsiaq News after the meeting she regarded her act “a success” despite the result.
“My goal at the end of the day was to let residents know that I am all too aware that they are feeling the squeeze, and to give them something to laugh at when they drive down the causeway,” she said.
“Smith told Nunatsiaq News after the meeting she regarded her act “a success” despite the result.“
Huh? 🤣
I’m glad Ms. Smith is such a huge Trump supporter. She realizes that the literal purpose of a lagoon is to correct the unusable harmful waste that can harm the environment/people into something safe and usable.
Thank for the laugh and the open support.
BlH blah you should drink a glass
It’s always been Lake Ruttan, founder of the sewage lagoon.
Nothing better to do huh
It is sad that this is the silliness that is being focused on by our elected officials when there are real challenges that are facing the community
I genuinely have a hard time understanding the priorities behind this. With everything Iqaluit is dealing with, this is what we’re bringing to the council table? A symbolic motion to rename a sewage lagoon after Donald Trump?
Housing. Roads. Water and sewer infrastructure. Public safety. Recreation. Cost of living. These are real issues affecting Iqalummiut every single day, and they deserve serious attention.
You don’t have to like Donald Trump. You don’t have to agree with anything happening south of the border. But Iqaluit City Council wasn’t elected to govern Washington, Ottawa or Greenland. It was elected to govern Iqaluit.
There’s a difference between having a sense of humour and recognizing when the position you hold deserves more seriousness.
If you want to make a statement, make one by getting things done for the people who elected you.
What bothers me about this kind of politics is how often symbolism seems to matter more than substance. There seems to be a growing focus on saying the right things and using the right buzzwords without really understanding the issues behind them.
It’s easy to make a statement or show everyone what side you’re on. It’s a lot harder to put in the work, understand the issues, listen to different points of view and actually accomplish something.
I’d rather see our elected officials focus their time and energy on doing the work they were elected to do and improving their communities. At the end of the day, results should matter more than making a political statement.