President Donald Trump has reportedly reached out to Apple to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America as part of an escalating trade dispute with Canada. But you know who made the change without prompting? Google.
Google Maps changed the name of "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America" for U.S. users, to reflect President Trump's executive order.
"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," Google said in a brief statement. "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 is owned by Alphabet Inc., a publicly traded company co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and with major institutional investors including Black Rock and Vanguard. Per Politico, "during Trump's return to the presidency, Google's leadership shifted from past friction toward strategic alignment."
To that point, Alphabet donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee, and Google's homepage linked users to YouTube to livestream the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expressed opposition to the name change, with Vermont Gov. Phil Scott calling it "petty and disappointing." It's worth noting that the president's order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and does not impact Canadian naming conventions.
As their war of words continues, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a sign declaring "Lake Ontario: Now and Always" in response to Trump's decision.
Ford added, "President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you, the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario."
MapQuest's announcement that they're not changing the name garnered 5.2 million views on X.
We’re not changing it. pic.twitter.com/NdeE9v2BNO
— MapQuest (@MapQuest) August 27, 2026
Apple Maps continued to use Lake Ontario on Aug. 31. However, they did eventually capitulate and rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Apple and MapQuest have refused Trump's order thus far
Apple and MapQuest have refused Trump's order thus far
