A young child plays with a ball near a sign that reads “Lake Ontario, Now and Always,” near Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, on August 29, 2026. — Reuters
Google Maps has updated the name of “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” for users in the United States, following an executive order from President Donald Trump, according to an official Google statement.
On Thursday, Trump declared that he was renaming the smallest of the five Great Lakes as part of an ongoing trade dispute with Canada, which has led to both nations implementing reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods.
This presidential order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which governs the standards for official American maps. It does not influence Canadian name conventions or how the rest of the world refers to the lake.
“Because Google Maps reflects official government sources—namely GNIS in the U.S.—users in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ while Canadians will still see ‘Lake Ontario.’ Outside North America, both names will appear,” Google explained in a Saturday blog post.
The White House, the office of Commerce Secretary Carney, and the office of Governor Ford did not immediately respond on Sunday to Google’s decision.
In a similar move last year, Google Maps changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to “Gulf of America” after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney strongly rejected the name change on Thursday. Meanwhile, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that “New York won’t be calling it that,” and Vermont’s Republican Governor Phil Scott called Trump’s action “petty and disappointing” on social media.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large lakeside sign Saturday, reading “Lake Ontario: Now and Always,” in both English and French.
“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but the rest of the world will always refer to it as Lake Ontario,” Ford asserted.
