Technology, AI & Cyber

Google Maps labels Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ in US

Google Maps is showing Lake Ontario as “Lake America” to users in the United States after President Donald Trump ordered the US federal government to use the new name for the cross-border lake.

Google said Sunday that people using Maps in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario,” while users outside the United States and Canada will see both names. The company said it updates Google Maps to reflect changes in the US Geographic Names Information System, the official federal database for geographic names.

Apple Maps continued to show the name Lake Ontario as of Sunday.

Trump signed an executive order on August 27 requiring the US federal government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The order directed the US Department of the Interior to update federal naming references within 30 days.

Lake Ontario is the smallest by surface area of the five Great Lakes and lies between Canada's Ontario province and the US state of New York. The name Lake Ontario has Indigenous roots and has been used since the 17th century.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised the name change and the wider US-Canada trade dispute on ABC's “This Week” on Sunday. “It's absolutely backwards,” Ford said. “No one's going to call it Lake of America.”

Ford warned that a trade war would hurt both countries and said US auto factories could be hit if Canadian purchases of US vehicles fell. “A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people,” he said.

Trump also criticised Canada on Truth Social on Sunday, writing: “I don't want Canadian cars, I don't want Canadian parts, I don't want Canadian anything.” He said Canada had been “ripping us off for decades.”

The auto dispute comes despite closely linked manufacturing between the two countries. Trump highlighted overtime work at a Ford Motor Company plant near Detroit assembling F-150 pickup trucks, while many F-150 engines are built across the border in Windsor, Ontario.

Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Canadian auto parts and other Canadian products to 50%. Canada has imposed counter-tariffs on US goods ranging from 15% to 50%.

The lake dispute follows Trump's earlier order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for US federal government use, a change Mexico has rejected.

Update

Trump said on Truth Social that he did not want Canadian cars, parts or anything Canadian.

Trump highlighted overtime work at a Ford plant near Detroit assembling F-150 pickup trucks.

Many F-150 engines are built in Windsor, Ontario, according to the supplied material.

Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Canadian auto parts and other Canadian products to 50%.

Canada has imposed counter-tariffs on US goods ranging from 15% to 50%.

Source note: AFP news report published on 30 August 2026 at 20:40:58 UTC.

Update

Google Maps displayed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States on Sunday.

Google said users in Canada would continue to see “Lake Ontario,” while users outside the United States and Canada would see both names.

Google said it made the change in line with the US Geographic Names Information System.

Apple's Maps app made no mention of “Lake America” as of Sunday morning.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised the name change and the US-Canada trade dispute on ABC's “This Week”.

Donald Trump posted that Americans “want to make our own cars” and accused Canada of ripping off the United States.

Source note: AFP news report published on 30 August 2026 at 15:08:05 UTC.

Update

Trump's order directs the US Department of the Interior to update the official geographical naming service within 30 days.

The order says the US federal government should call the lake “Lake America.”

The order justifies the change by saying the deepest part of the lake is on the American side and that the United States claims most of the lake's volume.

Trump also raised the possibility of renaming the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 21:41:33 UTC.

Update

Carney told Trump that Lake Ontario's name would remain "now and always."

Source note: AFP news report published on 27 August 2026 at 20:04:30 UTC.

Update

Trump called Canadian officials "nasty people" and said Canada was the worst country to deal with on trade.

The White House event included maps showing "Lake America" over Lake Ontario.

Canada had not immediately commented on the order.

Trump suggested he might also seek to rename the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The item adds that Lake Ontario's name is derived from the Huron word "Ontari'io," according to the National Museum of the Great Lakes.