Google Maps Renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ for US Users

Google Maps has begun displaying Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the body of water.

 

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

 

The tech giant said the change was made in line with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal database responsible for official geographic names in the United States.

 

“Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US, people using Maps in the US will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names,” Google said.

 

However, Apple’s Maps application was still displaying Lake Ontario as of Sunday morning.

 

The renaming has sparked fresh tensions between the United States and Canada, which are already engaged in a trade dispute involving retaliatory tariffs.

 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised the move, describing it as “absolutely backwards” and expressing disappointment over the development.

 

“No one’s going to call it Lake of America,” Ford said during an interview with ABC’s This Week.

 

The dispute follows Trump’s earlier decision in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a move also rejected by Mexico.

 

Lake Ontario is the smallest by surface area of the five Great Lakes and lies along the border between Ontario province in Canada and New York State in the United States.

 

Ford also criticised the ongoing trade dispute, warning that tariffs imposed on Canadian goods would hurt businesses and consumers in both countries.

 

“A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people. It’s probably the worst move you could ever do,” he said.

 

Trump, however, defended his trade position, saying Americans wanted to produce more vehicles domestically.

 

“Canada has been ripping us off for years — NO LONGER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.