Apple has followed Google’s lead and officially changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its Apple Maps service less than a week after President Trump ordered the change.
Apple Maps users in the United States will begin to see Lake America, not Lake Ontario — one of the five Great Lakes in North America — when using the website or mobile app. The change will only be shown to users in the United States. Apple Maps users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, while those outside the two countries will see both names.
The change is in response to an executive order signed by Trump on August 27 that gave the Interior Department 30 days to update the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming service and other federal databases.
“In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake officially be renamed as Lake America,” the order reads.
Trump’s directive — and Apple’s and Google’s compliance — has escalated an already strained relationship with Canada after trade talks between the two countries broke down.
