President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Apple to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its maps, causing tension in Canada amidst ongoing trade disputes. According to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Trump directly contacted Apple regarding the name change, hinting that the alteration may happen soon.
The push for renaming the lake came after Trump signed an executive order to change the name to “Lake America” following trade talks breakdown with Canada and the imposition of significant tariffs by the United States. In response, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs set to take effect in the coming days.
Prime Minister Mark Carney opposed the renaming, asserting that Lake Ontario, situated between Ontario and New York state and one of the Great Lakes, will remain known as Lake Ontario “now and always.”
Google confirmed that Google Maps for U.S. users now displays “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario to align with official sources. However, Canadian users will still see Lake Ontario on Google Maps, although some Ontario and Canadian websites briefly showed Lake America due to third-party data sources pulling information from Google’s U.S. API.
Apple has not yet responded to inquiries about the potential renaming on its maps. Previously, Trump issued an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in 2025, which impacted federal documents and services, leading to some online platforms adopting the new name. Apple Maps currently displays the area as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
