Google Maps renames Lake Ontario to Lake America after Trump's order
Americans opening Google Maps will find that Lake Ontario has seemingly disappeared. In its place is 'Lake America'—and it isn't a bizarre Google Maps glitch or an AI hallucination
Google has officially changed the name displayed for users in the United States following an executive order from President Donald Trump directing the federal government to refer to the Great Lake as Lake America. Here is all we know about the change.
Your location determines which name you see
The Google Maps update creates a slightly surreal situation depending on where you happen to be standing. Open Google Maps in the United States, and you'll see Lake America. Open it in Canada, and it's still Lake Ontario. And if you're elsewhere in the world, Google will show both names, with “Lake America” appearing alongside Lake Ontario.
According to Google, it is simply following its long-standing policy of updating geographical names based on official government sources in different countries. The U.S. Geographic Names Information System, or GNIS, has formally adopted “Lake America,” so Google Maps followed suit for American users.
What Canada has to say
The thing about renaming a lake that sits between two countries is that the other country gets a say or, at the very least, a very strong opinion. Lake Ontario is shared by the United States and Canada and is governed by agreements between the two nations, including the Boundary Waters Treaty. Trump can decide what the U.S. government calls the lake, but that doesn't mean Canada or anyone else has to follow along.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has made it crystal clear that Canada will continue calling it Lake Ontario. Taking things a step further, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a massive sign on the Canadian side of the lake reading: “Lake Ontario. Now and Always.”
Ford later posted a video standing in front of the sign and essentially declared that the name is not going anywhere.
Google Maps is not the only map in town
Interestingly, Google's decision hasn't triggered a universal map-wide rebrand. As of Sunday, other major navigation platforms, including Apple Maps and Waze, were still calling it Lake Ontario. And MapQuest, perhaps unexpectedly emerging as the most defiant player in the mapping wars, explicitly stated on X, “We're not changing it.”
So depending on which navigation app you use, you may now be looking at two completely different names for the same massive body of water. Welcome to the geopolitics of GPS.
This is not Google's first Trump-era map update
If this whole situation feels sort of familiar, that's because we have already watched this movie. Trump previously ordered the U.S. government to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and Google Maps also updated its naming for American users after the federal geographic database adopted the change.
Is Apple Maps next?
According to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, President Donald Trump has personally asked Apple to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America on its Maps platform as well. Speaking on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, Burgum said that "the president has reached out to Apple directly” and that "I'm sure we may be seeing that change coming up soon."
So far, Apple Maps has not followed Google's lead. Whether or not it will budge and grant the president’s request remains to be seen.
