Apple has updated its Apple Maps to show Lake Ontario as Lake America online, in line with President Donald Trump’s directive to rename the lake. This adjustment by Apple came after Alphabet made a similar change on Google Maps for U.S. users over the weekend. U.S. users will now see “Lake America” on Apple Maps following the modification in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, which was communicated to Apple by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
Canadian users will still see Lake Ontario on their maps, while global users will see both names, a strategy Apple previously employed when Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Google’s alteration caused some confusion in Canada, with certain websites briefly displaying the name Lake America.
The name adjustments highlight how U.S. tech companies are being entangled in geopolitical matters as they navigate pressure from the Trump administration to comply with executive orders that have faced opposition from allies and international entities. Trump’s directive only applies to U.S. federal usage of Lake Ontario and does not dictate what other countries or organizations call the lake.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s recent actions, including increasing tariffs on Canadian imports and renaming Lake Ontario. Following Trump’s order, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that they would maintain the lake’s traditional name, which has been in use for over 400 years. New York shares a border with Lake Ontario on the U.S. side, with about 52% of the lake’s surface area located in Canada.
Trump’s decision to rename the lake, as well as his previous move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in January 2025, have been viewed as attempts to provoke Canada and stoke nationalist sentiments in the U.S. Canadian leaders have dismissed Trump’s repeated suggestions of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state as absurd. Both Google and Apple adjusted their map services to reflect the Gulf of America designation earlier this year for U.S. users.