Google Maps has redesignated Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States following an announcement by President Donald Trump that the body of water had been renamed.
The change, however, applies only to users accessing Google Maps from the United States. Users in Canada will continue to see the traditional name, Lake Ontario, while users in other parts of the world will reportedly see both names.
Google said the update was based on changes reflected in the United States Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal government’s official database for geographical names.
The technology company explained that its mapping service updates geographical names in line with official government sources.
“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.
The development has sparked criticism in Canada, where officials have rejected the new designation and described the growing tensions between the two neighbouring countries as troubling.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised both the naming controversy and the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and Canada during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.
“It’s absolutely backwards. It was like something out of ‘Saturday Night Live’ when he signed a document saying — changed to ‘Lake America.’ No one’s going to call it Lake of America,” Ford said.
He described the situation as disappointing and warned that a prolonged trade war could have serious consequences for both economies.
Ford noted that Canada remains one of the largest markets for American-made vehicles and argued that tariffs imposed on Canadian goods would ultimately affect consumers in the United States.
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“A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people,” he said, adding that such a move could have damaging consequences for the highly integrated North American automotive industry.
The United States and Canada are currently engaged in escalating trade tensions, with both countries imposing tariffs and countermeasures.
The latest naming dispute follows a similar decision by Trump in January 2025 to redesignate the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” a move that was rejected by Mexico.
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes and lies along the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York.
As of Sunday morning, Apple Maps had not reflected the reported name change.
Meanwhile, Trump renewed his criticism of Canada over trade relations in a post on his Truth Social platform, insisting that the United States would no longer tolerate what he described as years of unfair trade practices.
“Canada has been ripping us off for years — NO LONGER!” Trump wrote.
