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Google Maps changes the name of Lake Ontario to America after Trump's order

Google Maps changes Lake Ontario name to America after Trump order.

Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" for American users following a decree by US President Donald Trump. The company announced this on its blog.

According to the company, after the lake's official name was changed in the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a corresponding update was also made to Google Maps.

Now users in the US will see the name "Lake America" on the map, while those in Canada will continue to see the name "Lake Ontario". In countries outside the US and Canada, both names of the lake will be displayed. Google said that this approach is consistent with the company's long-standing policy regarding bodies of water that are named differently in different countries.

Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 27 to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. The document stipulates that the new name be included in the official US geographic database.

The decision was met with discontent in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that the name Ontario has existed for more than 400 years and said that the lake in the country will continue to be called by its previous name. Ontario Premier Doug Ford installed a billboard on the Canadian shore of the lake with the inscription “Lake Ontario. Now and always.”

Trump signed the decree on the renaming of Lake Ontario at a time of escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada. He had previously announced plans to change the name of the lake, linking it to Washington’s trade relations with Ottawa.

This is not the first case of a geographical object being renamed on Google Maps following Trump’s initiative. In January 2025, the US President ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America and the Denali peak in Alaska to be renamed McKinley. Google then displayed the new name of the Gulf of Mexico on maps for American users.

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