Canadians react to Trump changing Lake Ontario to Lake America
Canadians are pushing back after President Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America.
Navigation platforms are all over the map so far on President Donald Trump’s push to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
After Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order renaming the body of water between the United States and Canada, some are eyeing platforms like Google Maps and Apple Maps to see how they plan to handle the change.
Trump’s order instructs the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to formalize the change to Lake America within 30 days. It comes amid an escalating trade war between the United States and Canada.
Trump’s effort to change the name has drawn comparisons to his push last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Here’s what we know so far on how map platforms are handling the issue.
Google Maps swaps Lake Ontario for Lake America
Google Maps officially changed the lake’s name from Lake Ontario to Lake America for users in the United States on Aug. 29, two days after Trump signed the order.
In a post on its news blog, Google said it made the change “since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources.”
Google Maps users in the United States will see “Lake America” while those in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario” on the platform. Users outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names, the post said.
“These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now,” Google added.
MapQuest takes clear stance on Lake Ontario. ‘We’re not changing it’
MapQuest, the online mapping platform that predated popular apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps, made its position clear on the Lake Ontario to Lake America name change.
“We’re not changing it,” the company said in an Aug. 27 social media post.
The company took a similar stance after Trump’s push to rename the Gulf of Mexico in early 2025. At the time, in addition to announcing that it wouldn’t change the name on its site, MapQuest also launched a map generator allowing users to “name your own Gulf.”
On Aug. 27, MapQuest similarly launched a new map generator for fans to create their own names for the lake.
In the days since, MapQuest has continued to double down on the lake’s name on its platform.
“We are aware that Lake Ontario is being correctly labeled on our map,” it said in an Aug. 30 social media post.
Apple Maps sticks to Lake Ontario so far
Apple Maps continues to use the name Lake Ontario as of early Aug. 31.
USA TODAY has reached out to Apple Maps and Waze for comment on whether it plans to change the name.
By comparison, Apple Maps opted to swap the name of the body of water formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America after Trump’s push in early 2025.
Contributing: Eve Chen
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.