(WASHINGTON) – Google Maps has renamed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on 27th August 2026.
The company said the change aligns with its longstanding policy of displaying names found in official government sources. The decision follows the updating of the official United States geographic names system, according to The Telegraph.
Trump signed the order amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada. The change applies to United States federal maps and institutions.
For Google Maps users in Canada, the name “Lake Ontario” will remain. In other countries, the service will display both names. As of Sunday, Apple Maps continued to call the body of water Lake Ontario.
Canadian authorities have rejected the decision. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the lake had borne its name for hundreds of years and would continue to be called Ontario.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also responded, stating that Canadians would continue to use the traditional name.
“The name ‘Lake Ontario’ comes from the word ‘Ontari’io’ in the language of the Wendat people, which, quite appropriately, means ‘lake beautiful, lake great.’ The name is more than 400 years old and emerged before the formation of the Canadian Confederation and the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” Carney wrote.
He added: “Canadians also know that calling things by their proper names means calling this lake Lake Ontario, then, now, and always.”
The lake is located on the border between the United States and Canada and is one of North America’s five Great Lakes.
Previously, Google similarly changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico for United States users following Trump’s order to rename it the “Gulf of America.”
Trump also posted an artificial intelligence generated video featuring armed “Donald ducks” guarding “Lake America.”
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