President Donald Trump has reportedly asked Apple to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its maps, sparking controversy in Canada amid ongoing trade tensions. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum stated that Trump directly contacted Apple regarding the renaming request, hinting at a potential upcoming change to “Lake America” on maps.
The renaming initiative follows an executive order signed by Trump to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” shortly after trade talks between Canada and the U.S. stalled, leading to the imposition of steep tariffs by the United States, to which Canada responded with retaliatory levies set to take effect soon.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney opposed the name change, emphasizing that Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes situated between Ontario and New York state, will remain known as Lake Ontario “now and always.”
Google announced that U.S. users of Google Maps will see “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario to align with official government sources. However, Canadian users will continue to see Lake Ontario on Google Maps, although some Canadian websites briefly displayed the name “Lake America” due to data pulled from Google’s U.S. API.
Apple has not yet responded to inquiries about whether it will comply with Trump’s request to rename the lake on Apple Maps. Currently, Apple Maps still shows the lake as Lake Ontario in Canada. Trump had previously issued a similar executive order in 2025 renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” impacting federal documents and geographic services, with some online sources and news agencies adopting the new name. Apple Maps currently labels the area as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”