Apple and Google Rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' Following Trump Executive Order
Apple has updated its Apple Maps service to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America', following an executive order by President Donald Trump. The change, which mirrors a similar move by Google last week, will only appear for users in the United States; Canadian and international users continue to see the original name or both names. This decision comes after trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada have already been strained due to recent negotiations breaking down. The renaming has led to increased attention on MapQuest, which chose not to comply with Trump’s directive and kept 'Lake Ontario' as its label. As a result, downloads of the MapQuest app surged, pushing it to No. 1 in Apple's U.S. App Store Top Charts and into the top six on Google Play. This is not the first time major tech companies have followed government directives for name changes; both Apple and Google previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico as 'Gulf of America' after a similar executive order from Trump last year.
