On August 27, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America" for U.S. federal purposes. Four days later, Google Maps was showing the new name to users in the United States. Apple Maps followed the next day.
In Canada, both apps still say Lake Ontario. So does everyone who lives on this side of it.
What is it called now?
- In the U.S.: "Lake America" on federal documents, Google Maps and Apple Maps.
- In Canada: Lake Ontario. Nothing changed. An American executive order doesn't rename a lake that Canada shares.
- Everywhere else: both names. Outside the two countries, Google Maps shows "Lake Ontario (Lake America)."
Why Google Maps and Apple Maps changed it
After the order, the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, the federal government's official place-name database, was updated to "Lake America." Google said it changed its map in response to that update, the same approach it took with the Gulf of Mexico in 2025. Google Maps switched for U.S. users on August 31, and Apple Maps began rolling out the same change on September 1.
Neither company renamed the lake for Canadians. What you see depends on which country you're in.
The backlash
The rename hasn't gone quietly. MapQuest declined to change the name and shot up Apple's App Store charts within days. On October 8, the Associated Press reported that the "Lake America" backlash is pushing people toward alternatives to Google Maps, naming MapQuest, TomTom, HERE WeGo and Citymapper.
Canadians have answered the way Canadians do: by keeping the name and wearing it.
The name is older than the order
"Ontario" has been in the written record since the 1600s. We traced that in Lake Ontario's Real Name: The History Behind It, and covered what the order does and doesn't do in What the Executive Order Actually Says.
Why we made this
It's Lake Ontario started the week the order was signed. We're Canadian-owned, and we wanted something simple to put on a shirt: the name the lake has carried for centuries.
It's Lake Ontario. Always has been. Still is. 🇨🇦