President Donald Trump has reportedly requested Apple to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its maps, igniting controversy in Canada amid ongoing trade tensions. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum disclosed that Trump directly contacted Apple regarding the renaming initiative. The potential alteration to “Lake America” is expected to be implemented soon, according to Burgum.
Following the breakdown of Canada-U.S. trade discussions and the imposition of significant tariffs by the United States on various Canadian products, Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” In response, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs set to take effect in the coming week.
Despite Trump’s directive, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney opposed the name change, affirming in a social media post that Lake Ontario, situated between Ontario and New York state as one of the Great Lakes, will retain its current name. Meanwhile, Google confirmed that U.S. Google Maps users will now 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.
Apple is yet to comment on Trump’s purported request to rename Lake Ontario on Apple Maps. As of now, Apple Maps in Canada still identifies the body of water as Lake Ontario. Trump had previously issued an executive order in 2025 renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” impacting U.S. federal documents and geographic services. Online mapping services and some U.S. news agencies have since adopted the name “Gulf of America,” while Apple Maps currently displays the area as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”