Apple changes Lake Ontario name to ‘Lake America’ for US users of its Maps, following Trump’s order

Apple has renamed Lake Ontario to "Lake America" for U.S. users of its Maps application, following President Donald Trump's directive in response to escalating trade tensions with Canada. This change was implemented on Wednesday, with Apple Maps displaying the altered name for users situated between New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Users outside of the U.S. continued to see the original name, Lake Ontario. Apple did not provide an immediate response to inquiries regarding the validity of the president's involvement in the decision. Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested that Trump had communicated the idea "directly" to the company. The new name, "Lake America," was announced by the president last week, adding to a series of provocations in his ongoing trade dispute with Canada, which now involves increased tariffs on both nations.

Google Maps subsequently rolled out the change over the weekend, attributing it to the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and Trump's executive order issued on Friday. The executive order instructed the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Unlike Google, Apple has not yet commented on the matter.

The White House's attempt to rename Lake Ontario has been met with swift disapproval from Canada, who dismissed the proposal.