President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Apple to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its maps, causing a stir in Canada amid ongoing trade tensions. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum mentioned that Trump directly contacted Apple regarding the renaming request, hinting at a potential upcoming change to “Lake America.” This move follows Trump’s recent executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” coinciding with trade disputes between the U.S. and Canada. In response, Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs, set to take effect soon.
Despite the pressure from the U.S., Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected the name change, asserting that Lake Ontario, situated between Ontario and New York state, will remain known as such. Google Maps has already implemented the change for U.S. users, citing official government sources for the alteration. While Canadian users will still see Lake Ontario on Google Maps, some websites in Canada briefly displayed “Lake America,” aligning with the U.S. API data source.
Notably, Apple has not yet confirmed whether it will comply with the renaming request for Lake Ontario on its maps. Previously, Trump had issued a similar order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, impacting U.S. federal documents and services. Online mapping services and U.S. news outlets have begun referring to it as the Gulf of America, with Apple Maps currently labeling it as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
