Google Maps has begun displaying “Lake America” to users in the United States after the U.S. government changed the federal name of Lake Ontario.
The company said it updated Maps after the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, the federal database used for official place names, formally changed the lake’s name in the United States.
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“Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names,” Google said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing U.S. federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The order came amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada.
“The United States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes, including the body of water currently known as Lake Ontario,” the order said. “Without the security and investment provided by the United States, this freshwater system would not be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use to the same extent as it is today.”
Trump later promoted the change on Truth Social, saying, “Lake Ontario, that’s gone, Lake America. So now we have a lake, and now we have a gulf, because we have the Gulf of America, and now we have Lake America, without the of.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the change, writing that “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded on Saturday with a large lakeside sign near Grimsby, Ontario, reading “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” in English and French.
Ford said the name would endure beyond the political moment.
“Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said in a video posted on social media.
The lake, one of the five Great Lakes, borders New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. The U.S. name change affects federal usage but does not require Canada or other countries to adopt the new designation.