Apple has officially renamed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its Apple Maps app for users in the United States, complying with an executive order from President Donald Trump amid rising trade tensions with Canada.
Users of Apple Maps in the US now see the new name “Lake America” for the body of water that straddles the border between New York State and Canada's Ontario province. Meanwhile, users outside the US still see the original name, Lake Ontario. Apple had reportedly considered complying with the order after receiving a direct request from President Trump.
President Trump formally announced the renaming of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” last week. The executive order made no mention of the escalating trade war with Canada, but the timing is widely seen as a retaliatory move after Canadian officials condemned new US tariffs and threatened counter-tariffs.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the renaming of the lake, asserting on social media that the name originates from the language of the Indigenous Wendat people, predating both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.
Late last month, trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed. The US subsequently imposed a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports. Trump also threatened an additional 50% tariff on Canadian steel, trucks, automobiles, and auto parts in the new year. In response, Prime Minister Carney imposed tariffs ranging from 25% to 50% on hundreds of American goods.
Instead of referencing those issues, Trump stated in the order that the renaming was meant to honor “the policy of my Administration to recognize the exceptional contributions of the American people and the rich heritage of our history by naming great natural landmarks after collective achievements.”
Earlier this month, Google made a similar change when Google Maps began displaying “Lake America.” Google cited Trump's executive order and the practice of using names consistent with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). In a blog post on Saturday, Google stated that US users would see “Lake America,” Canadian users would continue to see “Lake Ontario,” and users outside both countries would see both names.
The change on digital maps was not entirely unexpected, as Google Maps was among the first to adopt “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico and continues to use that name, although the term has gained little traction outside the US government.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the navigation app MapQuest rose to the top of Apple's App Store after publicly refusing Trump's request to rename Lake Ontario. MapQuest posted a screenshot of the lake on social media with the caption: “We are not renaming.” The defiant stance helped the app become the most downloaded navigation tool in the US.
