Apple and Google Adopt Trump's 'Lake America' Name for Lake Ontario on Maps
Quick Look
Apple and Google have updated their maps to show Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for users in the United States following an executive order by President Trump, while Canadian users continue to see the original name amid ongoing trade tensions and retaliatory tariffs.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The name change follows deteriorating US-Canada trade relations after the US imposed 50% tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, leading to collapsed trade talks in August.
Apple has become the latest company to adopt US President Donald Trump's new name for Lake Ontario — Lake America — on its Apple Maps platform.
The move came less than a week after Trump formally ordered the change in an executive order. Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes, alongside Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie.
The name change was driven largely by the collapse of trade talks between the US and Canada at the end of August, after the US imposed new 50% tariffs on around $20 billion (€17.3bn) worth of Canadian goods.
Apple Maps users based in the US will see the lake as Lake America, while those in Canada will still see the original Lake Ontario. According to US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Trump personally approached Apple and urged it to implement the change on its navigation platform.
Trump has since posted a number of AI-generated social media videos, including one showing him kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with one reading "Welcome to Lake America".
At the lake itself, however, Canada has installed a new sign reading "Lake Ontario. Now and Always."
"Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario. Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, according to the BBC.
Canada has also said it will implement "dollar-for-dollar" counter-tariffs in response to Trump's new levies.
Google under fire
Google made the same move over the weekend, drawing significant criticism on social media, with users accusing the tech giant of capitulating to the Trump administration.
This is despite the fact that while the US president can dictate how the federal government refers to geographic features, he has no authority to force private companies, foreign governments or even US states to do the same.
"The US Geographical Names Information System has formally changed the name for 'Lake Ontario' to 'Lake America' in the United States," Google said in a blog post.
"Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US, people using maps in the US will see 'Lake America', those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario', and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names."
However, other map services such as MapQuest have refused to change the lake's name. Last year, MapQuest also declined to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
The latest stand has driven MapQuest to the number one spot on the US Apple App Store's top charts, as of 1 September, ahead of even long-time favourite ChatGPT.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
MapQuest will maintain its refusal to rename Lake Ontario and continue to gain user traction in the US.
Likely · Within weeks
Canada will implement dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on US goods in response to the 50% levies.
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- How long will Apple and Google maintain the 'Lake America' designation for US users?
- Will other map services face pressure to adopt the new name?
- What legal challenges, if any, will arise from the unilateral renaming of a shared geographic feature?
