Google Maps changes “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America”…

Google Maps has renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on August 27 directing the name change amid the ongoing US-Canada trade war, according to the New York Times.

People using Google Maps in the US will now see “Lake America,” while those in Canada will still see “Lake Ontario.” Users outside North America will see both names. Google said in a blog post that the update was made after the US Geographic Names Information System formally registered the name change, adding that it updates its maps to reflect changes in official government sources.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford denounced the move Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, calling it “like something out of Saturday Night Live,” adding: “No one’s going to call it Lake America. It’s been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years.”

The rename raises a display challenge Trump’s 2025 Gulf of Mexico rename did not — because the US-Canada border runs directly through the middle of the lake itself, with its surface area split nearly evenly at 52% Canada and 48% United States.

Apple Maps has not adopted the new name. The move follows Trump’s January 2025 renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — a precedent Google also followed for US users.