In brief
Apple Maps has renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America for U.S. users after President Donald Trump’s order, as part of a trade spat that demanded a new name for the Great Lake. The change follows Canada’s decision to impose 50 % tariffs on nearly $20 bn of Canadian goods and the subsequent U.S. counter‑tariffs. Google has made the same switch for its US‑based map users, while Canadian map providers keep the lake’s original name. The move highlights how executive actions can reshape everyday geographic references on widely used platforms.
Apple has renamed Lake Ontario in its maps application to "Lake America" for users located in the United States, following a 30‑day executive order issued by President Donald Trump as part of a trade dispute with Canada.
The change is not applied to Canadians, who will still see Lake Ontario on their Apple Maps. The new name mirrors the Trump administration’s requirement that the U.S. Department of the Interior update the Geographic Names Information Service for U.S. users.
Google followed suit earlier this week, offering the same renaming to its U.S. users while keeping “Lake Ontario” for Canadian audiences. Google has already faced similar legal challenges in Mexico over the Gulf of Mexico renaming, signalling a broader trend of political influence on digital maps.
Canada’s response to the U.S. tariffs has been to implement “dollar‑for‑dollar” counter‑tariffs, while its Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government left trade negotiations at impasse, demanding stricter terms before resuming talks.
The renaming also appears in the U.S. version of Apple’s Gulf of Mexico map, with the name “Gulf of America”, further underscoring how the Trump administration uses government orders to push for new geographic designations.
The change has sparked debate about the politicisation of map data and the implications for how geography is represented to the public.
