U.S. President Donald Trump has contacted Apple, requesting that the company rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" in its Maps app as part of a new executive order. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum confirmed the request, saying that the order instructs the administration to "take all appropriate actions" to rename the lake and update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
Google has already switched its U.S. maps to display the Lake America name, while Canadian users continue to see the lake labeled as Lake Ontario. In other regions, the maps will display "Lake Ontario (Lake America)" to reflect both designations.
The rename has met strong resistance in Canada. Telecom operator Hydro One apologized on X for mistakenly showing the new name, stating that it was due to a third‑party mapping service. Other Ontario agencies, including Hydro Ottawa and the Liquor Board of Ontario, also briefly displayed the Lake America name.
Not all map providers are changing the name. MapQuest, a long‑standing free web-mapping service, posted a short Facebook message saying it would not alter the lake’s name and launched a tool that lets users name the lake any way they wish. The move helped the service rise to the top of Canada’s most‑downloaded free apps on the Apple App Store.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reacted by erecting a large sign along the lakeshore that reads "Lake Ontario Now and Always" in both English and French, and he told U.S. TV host George Stephanopoulos that the lake will remain Lake Ontario for its history of names derived from indigenous languages.
The naming dispute is part of the broader U.S.‑Canada trade friction, following stalled negotiations over trade agreements. Trump’s executive order underscores the administration’s push to assert American branding over the Great Lakes even as other countries refuse to comply.
