Trump’s trade dispute lingers as Google Maps shows ‘Lake America’ to U.S. users

Google Maps now gives the same lake two different names depending on who is searching: U.S. users see "Lake America," while Canadians continue to see "Lake Ontario."

The change came three days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which lies between New York state and Ontario province. The Associated Press and Reuters reported that searches for the lake on Google Maps in the United States now return the new name.

Google said it reflected the change after the U.S. Geological Survey updated the lake's entry in its Geographic Names Information System, the official U.S. geographic naming database. Searches in Canada still show Lake Ontario. Outside the United States and Canada, both names appear.

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Even after President Trump is gone from the White House, this place will still be called Lake Ontario.

The renaming has been rejected by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote on social media that the lake would still be called Lake Ontario after Trump was gone. Ontario also erected a large lakeside sign reading, "Lake Ontario. Now and always."

The dispute comes as the United States and Canada impose retaliatory tariffs on each other's goods. Trump said the United States had invested about $4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes over the past decade, while Canada's investment was much smaller, and cited that difference when ordering the name change.

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Lake Ontario. Now and always.