Google Maps Complies With Trump’s ‘Lake America’ Order

Google began displaying “Lake America” in place of “Lake Ontario” for U.S. users of Google Maps on Saturday, complying with an executive order President Donald Trump signed Thursday amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada.

The order directs the Interior Department to update the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal database that governs official American map labels. Google said its maps are updated “to reflect name changes in official government sources,” and that the change follows the company’s “long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country.” Under the new display rules, U.S. users see “Lake America,” Canadian users continue to see “Lake Ontario,” and users elsewhere see both names, with “Lake America” appearing in parentheses.

The change mirrors Google’s 2025 decision to relabel the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” after a similar Inauguration Day executive order from Trump, a move Mexico threatened to challenge legally at the time.

Not every mapping platform has followed suit. Apple Maps, for example, still shows “Lake Ontario.” MapQuest said it won’t adopt the new name at all, instead rolling out a tool letting users rename the lake to whatever they choose.

We’re not changing the name of Lake Ontario. Name it whatever you want at your leisure: https://t.co/E2I0Ezd57W

(tag us so we can see your work ????) pic.twitter.com/x8lIAMt6ab

— MapQuest (@MapQuest) August 27, 2026

The lake, the smallest of the Great Lakes, sits on the border between New York and Ontario, with its surface area split roughly 52% Canada and 48% U.S., though the White House has noted that most of its volume and its deepest sections lie on the American side.

Canadian officials have rejected the rebranding. Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X that the lake “is called Lake Ontario — today and forever,” noting the name predates both the Canadian Confederation and U.S. independence. Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a bilingual lakeside sign reading “Lake Ontario — Now and Always” on Saturday, and compared the renaming to a Saturday Night Live bit during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s This Week, while urging the two countries to negotiate an end to their trade standoff.

Domestically, reaction split along familiar lines. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung celebrated the change, writing “It’s official! LAKE AMERICA on Google Maps.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Vermont Governor Phil Scott both criticized the move, with Scott calling it “petty and disappointing.”