Trump pushes Apple to change 'Lake Ontario' to 'Lake America' on its maps

United States President Donald Trump has instructed tech company Apple to modify its Maps application, altering the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" to align with an executive order. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revealed on Monday's Fox Business Mornings with Maria program that the president personally reached out to Apple about the potential change.

Currently, Google has made the switch for users in the United States, but Canadian users still refer to the lake as Lake Ontario, as it borders Ontario, Canada and New York, United States. The renaming has sparked controversy in Canada, with Hydro One, an electrical utility company in Toronto, apologizing for displaying the incorrect name on their map due to third-party mapping services.

They stated they are working with their vendor to correct the issue. Other Ontario-based agencies, such as Hydro Ottawa and the Liquor Board of Ontario, also briefly displayed the name "Lake America" on their maps. The executive order aims to update the Geographic Names Information System, the official U.S. government map database.

While Google and some other map providers will display the name "Lake America" for U.S. users, they will continue to show "Lake Ontario" for Canadian users. Not all map providers are changing the name; MapQuest, an American free web mapping service, has decided not to make the change and even created a tool allowing users to choose and share their preferred name for the lake.