U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the official name of Lake Ontario, which spans the U.S.-Canada border, to "Lake America," and the new name has been reflected on Google Maps.
On the 30th (local time), according to AFP, Google changed its maps so that users in the United States see Lake Ontario labeled as "Lake America." Canadian users still see the existing name "Lake Ontario," and users outside the United States and Canada see both names.
Google said in a blog post that it changed the lake's name in line with its practice of reflecting place names provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) on Google Maps. Apple, by contrast, as of the day, is keeping the existing name "Lake Ontario" in the Maps app preinstalled on U.S. iPhones.
Earlier, on the 27th, as the United States and Canada clashed over tariff issues, Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America." Lake Ontario is a large lake between Ontario, Canada, and New York, United States, and its name, derived from the language of the Indigenous Wendat people, has been in use for more than 400 years.
Canada pushed back immediately. Ontario Premier Doug Ford put up a sign on Lake Ontario the previous day reading "Lake Ontario. Now and always," and criticized on social media (SNS), saying, "Long after President Trump leaves the White House, this place will still be called Lake Ontario."
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly changed place names related to countries in conflict with the United States. Last year, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as "Gulf of America" and to restore the name of Denali, North America's highest peak in Alaska, to "Mount McKinley."