Apple Maps Renames Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’

Apple Maps has updated its platform to display 'Lake America' for U.S. users following President Donald Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario, according to multiple reports. This change reflects an escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada, with Canadian officials rejecting the name change.

According to The Guardian, Apple announced that the lake will appear as 'Lake America' in the U.S., 'Lake Ontario' in Canada, and both names for users elsewhere. The company stated it changed its maps following the formal renaming by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), aligning with its policy to reflect bodies of water with names that vary from country to country.

The name change has sparked significant backlash, particularly in Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a 24-by-12-foot sign overlooking the lake in Winona, Ontario, that reads 'Lake Ontario Now and Always' in English and French. As reported by TimesLIVE, Ford stated, 'No one's going to call it Lake of America. It's been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years. It's going to continue being Lake Ontario.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also rejected the renaming, noting that Canadians will continue calling it Lake Ontario.

The dispute comes amid an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Canada. According to CBS News, Trump signed the executive order directing the Interior Department to adopt 'Lake America' as the body of water's name for U.S. federal purposes. The move follows a similar renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' earlier in his term, which also sparked controversy and legal disputes.

Canadian officials have called for Canadians to boycott U.S. travel and products, while Trump revived rhetoric of Canada being the '51st state' of the U.S., claiming that Canada wanted 'the benefits of being a State, without being one.' The name change has faced significant opposition from Democrats, with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D, Mich.) announcing plans to introduce the 'Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act,' a bill that would reverse Trump's order renaming the lake.

According to The Guardian, Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard called Trump's move an attempt to erase Indigenous history. 'I want to tell him that it is unacceptable for us, as a nation, to have a president who can eradicate our history, our culture and our identity,' Picard said.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox TV on Monday that Trump had been in direct contact with Apple to urge the tech giant to implement the renaming on its Maps platform. Google Maps made similar changes over the weekend following Trump's executive order. According to HuffPost, MapQuest, an online mapping app, openly rejected Trump’s request to rename the lake and posted a screenshot of Lake Ontario on social media with the caption: 'We’re not changing it.' This act of defiance catapulted the app into becoming the most in-demand navigation tool in the U.S.

Trump signed the executive order last week after negotiations ended in late July. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Trump's 'unacceptable demands,' prompting Washington to impose new 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of imports from Canada. The renaming has been the subject of strong pushback on both sides of the border, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford putting up a large bilingual billboard beside the lake saying 'Lake Ontario -- Now and Always' and 'Lac Ontario -- Aujourd'hui et pour toujours.'