Google confirmed Saturday that U.S. Users now see “Lake America” in place of Lake Ontario on its maps platform.
The change follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Aug. 27 directing federal agencies to adopt the new name for the body of water shared by New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. Google, 46, explained the switch in a statement issued two days later, attributing it to a formal update in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.
“The U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has formally changed the name for ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ in the United States,” the company said. It added that the change will look different depending on where in the world users are logging in from.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, 60, pushed back hard against the renaming in a post on X. He traced the original name’s roots to Indigenous history and emphasized its endurance through centuries of North American politics.
“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big,'” he wrote.
“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.”
Carney continued with pointed finality: “We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms… Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”
Google’s policy mirrors official government naming databases rather than imposing unilateral changes across borders. Users in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario,” while those browsing from outside North America will be shown both names.
“Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. Will see ‘Lake America’… These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now,” Google added.
The lake renaming arrives amid sharpening trade hostilities between Washington and Ottawa. Trump has threatened a 50% tariff on Canadian cars, trucks and automotive parts starting in 2027, and Carney has vowed to match those tariffs “dollar for dollar” from Sept. 8.
Speaking in the Oval Office after signing the order, Trump vented long-standing grievances about the defense relationship with America’s northern neighbor.
“We defend Canada for nothing… They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada,” he told reporters.
“They don’t pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they’re not a state. They want to be treated like they’re a state and we just can’t do that anymore.”
This marks the second major body of water Trump has rechristened during his presidency. He previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” and told reporters the Lake Ontario switch was something he’d “been thinking about for a long time.” While the U.S. Government can dictate names for federal use, it holds no authority to compel Canada or international bodies to follow suit.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung celebrated the update on X, writing: “It’s official! LAKE AMERICA on Google Maps.” Trump himself amplified coverage of the change by sharing a link on Truth Social.