US President Donald Trump has directed tech companies to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America on their mapping platforms following an executive order, prompting varied responses from Google, Apple, and Canadian officials.
Following an executive order signed on Thursday, President Trump has requested major technology firms to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America on their mapping services. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum confirmed to Fox Business that the president directly contacted Apple about the change, anticipating the company would comply soon. The order directs Burgum to undertake all necessary measures to update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official US government map database.
Google responded by updating its maps for US-based users over the weekend, though Canadian users continue to see the traditional Lake Ontario name. The company stated that users in other parts of the world will see both names displayed together. However, not all mapping services have followed suit. MapQuest, an American mapping platform, declined to implement the change in a Friday social media post and instead introduced a tool allowing users to rename the lake themselves—a move that led MapQuest to become the top-downloaded free application in Canada by Monday morning.
Canadian officials and organisations have firmly resisted the renaming. Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a sign reading "Lake Ontario Now and Always" in both English and French, stating the name has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Several Ontario-based organisations, including Hydro One utility company and the Liquor Board of Ontario, temporarily displayed the Lake America designation through third-party mapping services before correcting the error. Hydro One apologised for the confusion caused by the name appearing on their maps.
The renaming follows Trump's collapse of trade negotiations with Canada. The four Great Lakes bearing indigenous-origin names—Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Erie—have carried their current designations for centuries.