Google Maps renames Lake Ontario “Lake America” in the US, but not Canada

Google Maps has adopted the name “Lake America” for users in the United States, while leaving the name Lake Ontario unchanged for people in Canada.

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I don’t want Canadian cars, I don’t want Canadian parts, I don’t want Canadian anything.

Google said it made the change to reflect the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, the federal database it uses for official name updates. People using Maps in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, a name with Indigenous roots that has been used since the 17th century. Users outside the United States and Canada will see both names.

The naming dispute has emerged alongside a worsening trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa. The two countries have imposed retaliatory tariffs, while President Donald Trump has also criticized the auto industry despite the close links between Canadian and U.S. manufacturing. “I don’t want Canadian cars, I don’t want Canadian parts, I don’t want Canadian anything,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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It’s absolutely backwards.

Apple continued to use Lake Ontario in its Maps app, which comes installed on iPhones in the United States. The Google change follows Trump’s unilateral renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in January 2025, a move Mexico rejected.

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No one’s going to call it Lake of America.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the latest change “absolutely backwards” in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” He said the decision was disappointing and warned that a trade war would hurt both countries. Ford also described tariffs on Canada as “a tax on American people,” arguing that U.S. auto factories would suffer if Canadian purchases of American vehicles declined.

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A tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on American people.