Google updated its Maps application on Sunday in adherence with an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Thursday that renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Titled, “Honoring the American history of the Great Lakes and renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America,” the order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “take all appropriate actions” to rename the body of water that lies between the state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. The decree is binding only for the U.S. government, but private companies with map functions were expected to change the name for American users as they had when Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be called the Gulf of America.
Trump signed the executive order late last week amid an ongoing trade war with Canada and a parallel rhetorical battle with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Negotiations between the two countries collapsed on Aug. 21 after a slew of 50% tariffs Trump signed into law in mid-July took effect. He said Thursday that “Canada has been ripping us off for a very long time on trade,” citing the U.S.’s military support, which he also referenced in justification of the order.
“Without the security and investment provided by the United States,” the order says, “this freshwater system would not be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use to the same extent as it is today. The United States Coast Guard supplies 9 of the 11 ice breaking vessels on the Great Lakes, securing commercial shipping lanes free of charge. The United States has invested nearly $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada has invested far less in similar initiatives over the same period.”
Trump attacked Canada further on Sunday, saying his administration’s tariff policy has helped the automobile industry in Detroit, Michigan, and that Canadian companies “doing business with America” should move to the U.S. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Trump’s latest renaming project is “something out of Saturday Night Live,” and reiterated that Canadians would continue to call the body of water “Lake Ontario.”
TRUMP SIGNED AN ORDER TO RENAME LAKE ONTARIO TO LAKE AMERICA — WHAT TO KNOW
Google was not legally required to make the change, but did so “since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources,” the company said in a statement. It is unclear if Apple will do the same for its Maps function.
“These functions follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country,” the statement also said.