While both Apple Maps and Google Maps have made the change, MapQuest refused to use the lake’s new name
Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty; Apple Maps
NEED TO KNOW
- Apple Maps now displays “Lake America” instead of “Lake Ontario” for users in the United States
- The renaming follows Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order, which is part of a broader effort to rebrand geographic landmarks
- Canada has rejected the change and continues to use the traditional name amid tensions with the U.S.
Following Google Maps’ lead, Apple Maps has rebranded Lake Ontario as “Lake America” following President Donald Trump’s executive order on Aug. 27.
Apple made the move on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Reuters reported. Users in the U.S. will now see the name “Lake America,” while users in Canada will continue to see the name “Lake Ontario.”
Google Maps was first to display “Lake America” instead of “Lake Ontario” for users in the United States, putting the digital mapping service in line with the Trump administration’s decision to change the name of the international body of water.
While both Google Maps and Apple Maps have now adapted the name, MapQuest has refused to do so, releasing a statement on X declaring, “We’re not changing it.” Its decision led to a boost in popularity for the company, which subsequently landed at the top of Apple’s app store.
The lake, which sits along the border between the United States and Canada, has historically been known as Lake Ontario on both sides of the border. While the name has now been updated in the U.S. government’s geographic database, Canada has not adopted the change and continues to officially refer to it as Lake Ontario.
Google said its Maps platform follows geographic naming conventions established by official government sources. As a result, the name displayed on the service depends on a user’s location. People accessing Google Maps from the United States see “Lake America,” while users in Canada continue to see “Lake Ontario.”
In other parts of the world, Google displays both names, allowing users to see the U.S. designation alongside the name traditionally used by Canada.
Trump’s push to rename the lake is part of a broader effort by his administration to change the names of prominent geographic landmarks. The president has argued that the new designation better reflects American identity and the country’s relationship with the body of water. The decision, however, has been met with resistance in Canada, where government officials have continued to use the traditional name.
The disagreement over the lake’s name comes at a particularly tense moment in U.S.-Canada relations. The two countries have been engaged in disputes over trade and tariffs, with Trump repeatedly criticizing Canadian policies and threatening additional economic measures.
The issue has also taken on a political and cultural dimension, with critics arguing that the United States cannot unilaterally determine what the lake should be called in Canada. Canadian officials have made clear that they have no plans to abandon the name Lake Ontario, meaning the two countries are now using different names for the same body of water.
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When Trump made the change official, he remarked, “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time on trade.”
“We defend Canada for nothing… They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada,” he told reporters in the Oval Office shortly after signing the executive order.
“They don’t pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they’re not a state,” Trump continued. “They want to be treated like they’re a state and we just can’t do that anymore.”
Following the executive order, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hit back at the Trump administration on social media, writing in an Aug. 27 post on X, “The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.’ ”
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