Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario as Lake America for US users

Apple Maps has relabelled Lake Ontario as Lake America for users in the United States. The shift mirrors Trump's order but has been rejected by Canada and several map providers.

In Short

• The change came amid a worsening US-Canada trade dispute over tariffs
• Users in Canada and elsewhere still see Lake Ontario on maps
• Canadian leaders rejected the move, saying the historic name remains valid

Apple has renamed Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users of its Maps app in the United States, days after Google made a similar change and after President Donald Trump ordered the new name amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. Users outside the US continue to see the lake listed as Lake Ontario.

The change follows Trump’s executive order last week directing the US Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the country’s geographic naming system. While US tech companies have started reflecting the change for American users, Canadian leaders have rejected the move and said the lake’s name remains unchanged for Canada and the rest of the world.

As of Wednesday morning, Apple Maps showed "Lake America" for US users viewing the lake between New York state and Canada’s Ontario province. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox that Trump had reached out to the company "directly" about the change.

Trump declared the new name on Friday, in what was one of the latest steps in his trade war with Canada, which has led to higher tariffs on both sides of the border. Google Maps rolled out the change over the weekend, saying it was following Trump’s order and its existing practice of using names assigned by the US Geographic Names Information System. Google said, "People using Maps in the US will see Lake America, those in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names," adding that such updates "follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country."

Trump cannot require Canada to adopt the new name, and the proposal drew a swift response there. "It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever," Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote on social media on Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also rejected the move last week, referring to the lake’s Indigenous roots and saying the name predates both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence. Lake Ontario is derived from the Huron Indigenous word "oniatari:io," meaning "lake of shining waters."

This is not the first such change ordered by Trump. Last year, he directed that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America, and both Apple and Google later updated the name on their maps for US users. Not all map providers have done the same in the case of Lake Ontario, however. MapQuest has said it will not change the label and still shows Lake Ontario and Gulf of Mexico as the default names on its platform. In effect, the renaming has been adopted by some US services for American users, while Canada and others continue to use the long-standing name Lake Ontario.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends