President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Apple to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its maps, according to a senior U.S. government official. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum mentioned that Trump directly contacted Apple regarding the proposed renaming. It is anticipated that the change to “Lake America” may be implemented soon.
The renaming initiative has stirred controversy among Canadians, especially amidst escalating trade tensions between the two countries. Trump issued an executive order last week to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” following the breakdown of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations and the imposition of substantial tariffs by the United States.
In response, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs set to take effect in the coming week. Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed opposition to the name change, affirming that Lake Ontario, situated between Ontario and New York state, will retain its original name “now and always.”
Google recently declared that Google Maps users in the U.S. will now see “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario to reflect changes in official government sources. While Canadian users will continue to see Lake Ontario on Google Maps, some websites in Ontario and Canada erroneously displayed the name “Lake America” temporarily due to data sourced from Google’s U.S. API.
Despite the controversy, Apple has not yet responded to inquiries about the potential renaming of Lake Ontario on Apple Maps. It is worth noting that in 2025, Trump also issued an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, impacting U.S. federal documents and geographic services. Apple Maps currently identifies the area as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”