U.S. President Donald Trump has personally asked Apple to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” on its Maps platform, adding another dimension to the growing dispute between Washington and Ottawa.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Monday that Trump had reached out directly to Apple and expressed confidence that the technology company could soon update the name on its mapping service. As of Monday, however, Apple Maps was still displaying Lake Ontario.
The request follows Trump’s August 27 executive order directing the U.S. Interior Department and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to officially rename the body of water “Lake America” in U.S. federal records. The order applies to the lake bordered by New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Google Maps has already adopted the new designation for users in the United States. Google said users in Canada would continue to see “Lake Ontario,” while users outside the two countries would see both names.
Apple has not yet announced whether it will follow Google’s decision. The company has previously updated geographic names on its U.S. maps following Trump administration directives, including the earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
The latest request comes amid worsening Canada-U.S. trade relations, with tariffs imposed by both countries after recent negotiations failed to produce an agreement. The Lake Ontario renaming has consequently taken on a broader political significance, with critics viewing it as another symbolic escalation in the dispute.
Canadian officials have rejected the idea that the United States can unilaterally determine the name used by Canada. The lake has long been known as Lake Ontario in Canada, and its name has historical and Indigenous significance.
The dispute also highlights the increasingly complicated role of digital mapping companies in international geographic naming disputes. While U.S. federal agencies can determine names used in American government records, private technology companies must decide how to handle competing official names across different countries and regions.
For now, Apple Maps continues to display Lake Ontario, but Burgum’s comments suggest the Trump administration is pressing the company to make a change.
The controversy is likely to remain another flashpoint in the increasingly strained relationship between Canada and the United States.
Swifteradio.com
