Google said users in Canada would continue to see the name “Lake Ontario” on their devices and computers, while users in the United States would see the lake identified as “Lake America”.
The name change comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Canada, including an escalating trade dispute in which both countries have imposed tariffs on each other.
Apple’s Maps application did not display the name “Lake America” as of Sunday morning.
Google said the change was made in accordance with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal database responsible for official geographic names in the United States.
“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,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names,” the company said in a blog post.
The move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”. Mexico has rejected the change.
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area. It lies along the Canada-US border, between Ontario province and the US state of New York.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticised both the name change and the ongoing trade dispute on Sunday.
“It’s absolutely backwards,” Ford said during an interview with ABC’s “This Week”, adding that he did not expect the new name to gain widespread acceptance.
Ford also warned that prolonged trade tensions could have serious economic consequences for both countries, particularly the US automobile industry, given the close integration of the Canadian and American automotive sectors.
Canada has historically been a major market for US-made vehicles, while a significant share of components used in American vehicles are manufactured in Canada.
“A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people,” Ford said, describing the policy as harmful to both economies.
Trump responded on Sunday, saying Americans “want to make our own cars” and accusing Canada of taking advantage of the United States.
“Canada has been ripping us off for years — NO LONGER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
