Apple has renamed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” on its Maps app for US-based users, following an executive order from President Donald Trump as part of Washington’s trade spat with Canada.
The change was made for US users, while those in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario” displayed. The move comes after Trump signed an executive order to change the lake’s name following the collapse of trade talks between the neighboring countries late last month.
Rival technology giant Google made a similar switch for its users in the US in recent days, leading to backlash on social media.
The Trade War Context
The name change follows Washington’s imposition of new 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed. Canada has responded by saying it will implement “dollar for dollar” counter-tariffs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration walked away from the negotiations due to what his office called “unacceptable demands.” Carney told the Trump administration to “start being serious” and stop trying to be tough before discussions can restart.
The Executive Order
Trump’s executive order gives the US Department of the Interior 30 days to update the change with the Geographic Names Information Service — the official database of place names in the country.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Apple was specifically urged by Trump to rename Lake Ontario on its Maps platform to comply with the executive order.
The president has also posted several AI-generated videos on social media, including a clip of him kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with another that says “Welcome to Lake America.”
Canada’s Response
At the lake itself, Canada has installed a new sign with the words “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
“Just in case President Trump or anyone else forgets, we’ve set up this sign to remind them, it’s Lake Ontario, now and forever,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.
Not All Map Providers Are Complying
MapQuest, a free web mapping service, said “we’re not changing it” in a short Facebook post on Friday. The platform rose to the top of the most-downloaded free applications earlier this week on the Canadian Apple App Store.
Google made a similar decision in 2025 to re-designate the Gulf of Mexico after Trump declared it would be called the “Gulf of America.” Google was sued by Mexico over allegedly ignoring the country’s requests not to rename the Gulf for US users. Apple also changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps service for US users.
The Bottom Line
Apple Maps has renamed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for US users following President Trump’s executive order amid a trade war with Canada. Google made a similar change. Canada has responded with its own sign declaring “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.” The names of four of the five Great Lakes come from indigenous words
