Apple quietly renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America for US users, and Trump wasted no time declaring it ratified and binding

Apple has updated its Maps application to display Lake Ontario as Lake America for users located in the United States. As reported by The Guardian, the change follows a direct executive order from President Donald Trump, who has pushed for the new title amid rising tensions over trade relations with Canada. The update is live for American users, while those accessing the app from outside the country continue to see the original name.

Google Maps implemented a similar change over the weekend, citing the US Geographic Names Information System as its guide for naming conventions. In a blog post released on Saturday, Google explained that users in the United States will see Lake America, users in Canada will see Lake Ontario, and users outside both countries will see both names. The move follows a similar pattern to the Gulf of America, a name Google Maps still uses despite limited adoption outside official government communications.

President Trump expressed satisfaction with the change in a post on Truth Social, writing that the adoption of “Lake America” by Google Maps and Apple Maps meant the name change was “complete, ratified, and binding.” Trump officially unveiled the renaming initiative last week. He did not explicitly tie the decision to the ongoing trade dispute, though the timing lines up with a period of heightened economic friction between the two countries.

The renaming lands amid a deepening trade dispute with Canada

Trade negotiations between the two countries collapsed late last month, after which the United States imposed a 50 percent tariff on a range of Canadian imports. Additional 50 percent duties on steel, trucks, cars, and auto parts are threatened for the new year, and Canada has responded by moving to implement retaliatory tariffs ranging from 25 to 50 percent on hundreds of American goods. Elsewhere in the news cycle this week, a Florida server’s viral tip dispute also drew wide attention online.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected the name change. He noted in a social media post that the name Ontario comes from the language of the Indigenous Wendat people, and emphasized that this heritage predates both the US Declaration of Independence and the Canadian Confederation.

Despite Carney’s objections, the administration moved forward with the policy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox Business earlier this week that “the president has reached out to Apple directly,” and said he expected the change to be visible to users soon. In separate viral news this week, a Goodwill shoe donation dispute also gained traction online.

The renaming push has sparked a surge of interest in alternative navigation tools. MapQuest publicly refused to adopt the new name, posting a screenshot of the lake on social media last Thursday with the caption “We’re not changing it.” The gesture helped push MapQuest to the number one spot on the Apple App Store on Tuesday.