Lake Ontario or ‘Lake America’? Google Maps shows different names in US, Canada
Washington: Google Maps has begun displaying “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario for users in the United States, following US President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the cross-border Great Lake.
Users in Canada will continue to see the name Lake Ontario, while those accessing Google Maps from outside the US and Canada will see both names, Google said.
The change has added a fresh point of friction between the United States and Canada, whose relations have been strained by an escalating trade dispute.
Why does Google Maps show different names?
Google said the change was made to reflect the US government's official geographic naming database.
“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’,” the company said.
Canadian users, meanwhile, will continue to see “Lake Ontario”. Users elsewhere will see both names.
Apple’s Maps application had not adopted the “Lake America” name as of Sunday morning.
Canada rejects the new name
Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised the move, calling it “absolutely backwards” and saying Canadians would not start referring to the lake by its new US name.
“It was like something out of ‘Saturday Night Live’ when he signed a document saying — changed to ‘Lake America,’” Ford told ABC’s This Week.
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He also criticised the wider trade dispute between the two countries, warning that tariffs could hurt both economies.
“A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people,” Ford said.
What is Lake Ontario?
Lake Ontario is the smallest of North America’s five Great Lakes by surface area. It lies along the border between Canada’s Ontario province and the US state of New York.
The lake’s name has been in use since the 17th century and has Indigenous roots.
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.
The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.…— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 27, 2026
The latest dispute over its name comes after Trump similarly moved to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in January 2025. Mexico has rejected that change.
Trade tensions add to the dispute
The naming controversy comes amid a wider trade confrontation between Washington and Ottawa, with both countries imposing tariffs on each other.
The US and Canada also have closely integrated automobile industries, with Canadian-made components forming a significant part of US vehicle production.
Ford warned that a prolonged trade war could have serious consequences for both sides, particularly the US auto industry.
Trump defended his trade stance on Sunday, saying Americans “want to make our own cars” and accusing Canada of taking advantage of the United States.
(AFP)