Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users in the United States, days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to rename the Great Lake.
Google says the change follows its longstanding practice of using names listed in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. U.S. users will now see Lake America, Canadian users will continue to see Lake Ontario, and users outside the two countries will see both names. Trump did not order Google to make the change; the company updated Maps after the federal geographic database was changed.
Trump signed the executive order Thursday amid an escalating trade dispute between the United States and Canada. In the order, the White House argues that the United States provides much of the security and investment that supports the Great Lakes, pointing to U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking operations and nearly $4 billion in U.S. spending on Great Lakes ecosystem protection over the past decade. Trump said Lake Ontario is an important economic resource and part of America’s heritage, directing federal agencies to use Lake America on government maps, documents and communications.
The timing has made the renaming another flashpoint in deteriorating U.S.–Canada relations. Trump criticized Canadian trade policies while signing the order, although he told reporters the name change was not intended to send Canada a message. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the new name, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded with a large lakeside sign declaring that it remains Lake Ontario.
The name change is also facing a challenge in Congress. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., plans to introduce the Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act to reverse Trump’s executive order, while Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., is working on separate legislation. Dingell says more than 100 House Democrats have also signed a letter urging the administration to change its diplomatic approach toward Canada. With Republicans controlling Congress, however, legislation overturning the order faces a difficult path.
Google’s decision does not mean the lake has been universally renamed. The executive order establishes Lake America as the official U.S. federal name, but Canada continues to recognize Lake Ontario. Google has essentially created two versions of the map depending on where a user is viewing it — turning an already contentious presidential name change into a visible reminder of the growing divide between two countries that share the lake.
