Lake America now appears in Google Maps for users in the United States, reflecting a recent federal order to rename Lake Ontario within US government systems.
The change follows an order by President Donald Trump to update the US Geographic Names Information System, which Google cites as its official US source for place names. According to the company, people using Maps in the United States will see Lake America, users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, and users outside both countries will see both names.
Google said such updates align with its long-standing approach to water bodies that carry different names in different countries, and the change is beginning to roll out.
Google previously acted on a similar directive in 2025 when it labeled the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a move that prompted litigation from Mexico.
Why did Trump order the name change?
Lake Ontario derives from the Wendat term “Ontari’io,” meaning big, beautiful lake, and the Canadian province of Ontario later took its name from the lake. The decision to replace the historical name comes amid a trade war between the United States and Canada.
Both countries had been negotiating to resolve the dispute, which began under Trump, but talks collapsed when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney withdrew, citing last-minute changes he called unfair and uneconomic.
Carney said points of contention included US objections to French product labeling rules and to French-language content requirements for streaming services in Quebec.
Lake America name deepens trade dispute
The dispute over tariffs has already seen tensions spike, with Mark Carney previously warning about the impact of US measures on the Canadian economy.
In earlier comments, Carney called Trump tariffs a miscalculation, arguing that the escalating measures risked further damaging cross-border trade.
On Saturday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a bilingual sign along the lakeshore reading, “Lake Ontario: Now and always.” Ford said the lake would continue to be known worldwide as Lake Ontario.
The term Lake America nevertheless appeared in some Canadian government web applications that pull in Google Maps. Among them was the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which had removed US-made alcohol from shelves as part of the trade dispute.
Ontario Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Stephen Crawford said some provincial agency websites rely on Google’s map data. He added that officials are reviewing pages to ensure the lake is identified by its original name, Lake Ontario.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery