The decision by the news agency follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which directed the Interior Department to officially update the geographic name in federal mapping data. The directive marks another chapter in an escalating trade war and diplomatic friction between the United States and Canada over cross-border tariffs. Last month, the president signed an executive order declaring that Lake Ontario would be known as “Lake America.” The move was a blatant effort to spite Canada as the countries re-engaged in a trade war over Trump’s tariffs.
How Major Map Apps and News Outlets Diverge on Lake America
Private technology companies and publishers have split sharply over how to handle the federal name change. Major navigation platforms including Google Maps and Apple Maps quickly adopted the “Lake America” label for U.S. users, following outreach that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said included direct contact from the president. Apple has relabeled Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. users of its Maps app, following competitor Google days after President Donald Trump ordered a new name for the body of water amid his escalating trade war with Canada. As of Wednesday morning, Apple Maps displayed “Lake America” for U.S. users looking at the lake that sits between the state of New York and Canada’s Ontario province. Users outside of the U.S. still saw the Lake Ontario name. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox that Trump had reached out to the company “directly” about the change. The president declared the new “Lake America” name last week — marking one of the latest provocations during his trade war with Canada that is now hiking tariffs on both sides of the border. His executive order on Friday directed the Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service.
Google Maps rolled out the change over the weekend, citing Trump’s order and its already-established practice of using names assigned by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (or GNIS). People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names,
Google said in a brief statement on Saturday, reiterating that such updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country.
By contrast, MapQuest chose to keep the original Lake Ontario designation while launching a separate online tool allowing users to assign whatever name they prefer. Not all map providers have followed suit. MapQuest, in particular, has declared it won’t be changing Lake Ontario’s label — and gave users the option to name the lake whatever you want
through a separate online tool. Both the Lake Ontario and Gulf of Mexico names still appear as default on its platform. MapQuest, owned by California company System1, has reported a surge of downloads recently. When it was discovered that MapQuest would not follow suit, those looking to boycott the other apps quickly launched it to the top of Apple’s app chart. On Wednesday, MapQuest topped the charts.
The Associated Press Defends Global Readability Amid White House Tension
The Associated Press defended its editorial stance by emphasizing its responsibility to international readers. The Associated Press’s guidance says President Donald Trump’s executive order affects only how the U.S. government refers to the lake, not Canada or other countries. The Associated Press will not refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” President Donald Trump’s new name for one of the Great Lakes. The AP, however, will not got along with that executive order, according to The Washington Post: The AP’s guidance says Trump’s executive order affects only how the U.S. government refers to the lake, and Canada and other countries are not required to recognize the name change.
Patrick Maks, AP spokesman: The Associated Press will refer to Lake Ontario by its original name, including the name Trump has chosen when relevant,
AP spokesman Patrick Maks said in a statement. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are recognizable to broad audiences.
Maks added that the executive order affects only how the U.S. government refers to the landmark, noting that Canada and other international jurisdictions hold no obligation to recognize the alteration. At the time of writing, Trump had not yet commented on the AP’s decision. When the Associated Press issued similar guidance involving Trump’s bid to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,
he actually restricted the outlet’s access to the White House. The Associated Press tried to take legal action for the move, but an appeals court ruled in June 2025 that Trump’s ban could continue.
Public Opinion and Canadian Opposition to the Federal Order
Public reception inside the United States has skewed heavily against the renaming initiative. A recent Ipsos poll revealed that just 14% of Americans approved of the change, while 63% opposed it. Despite it being so unpopular, a number of map apps — including Apple’s — have caved and renamed the lake.
Canadian leadership immediately rejected the decree. Trump cannot force Canada to also change the name of Lake Ontario. And America’s northern neighbors quickly panned the idea. Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized the move on social media, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defended the historical nomenclature.
Doug Ford, Ontario Premier: It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever,
Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote on social media Friday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also rejected the move last week, invoking the lake’s Indigenous roots and noting that the name predates both the Canadian Confederation and U.S. Declaration of Independence. The name Lake Ontario comes from the Huron Indigenous people’s word “oniatarí:io,” which means lake of shining waters.
As domestic mapping providers adjust to federal guidelines, international bodies, foreign governments, and global news agencies continue to navigate a fractured naming landscape.
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