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Google Maps renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ for US users after Trump order

Google Maps renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ for US users after Trump order

A map labeling Lake Ontario as "Lake America" is displayed as U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photograph: (AFP)

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Google Maps will show Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the US after Donald Trump’s executive order, while Canada will retain the original name.

Google Maps has changed the name of "Lake Ontario" to “Lake America” for US users following the executive order by the US President Donald Trump. Donald Trump last Thursday said that he was changing the name of one of the five Great Lakes amid a trade fight between the US and Canada to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars ​in goods.

"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," said Google in a blog post issued on Saturday.

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Google said that these changes follow their long-standing policy where names of water bodies vary from country to country. Google maps have previously did something similar with the Gulf of Mexico in 2025, labelling it the "Gulf of America" following Trump's executive order on his first day in office renaming the body of water. Other nations aren't required to recognise the name.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung celebrated the name change on Sunday in a post on X, saying, "It's official! LAKE AMERICA on Google Maps."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said after the president signed the executive order last week, "New York won't be calling it that." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately rejected ​the lake's name ​change on Thursday. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, on Saturday unveiled a large lakeside sign that reads, "Lake Ontario: Now and Always," in both English ⁠and ​French.

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Kushal Deb

Kushal Deb is a mid-career journalist with seven years of experience and a strong academic background. Passionate about research, storytelling, writes about economics, policy, cult...Read More