Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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WASHINGTON — Apple is changing its Maps app to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to change the name of the Great Lake.
“Apple Maps has just announced that it has changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, so now that very important change of names, between Google Maps and Apple Maps, is complete, ratified, and binding” Trump posted on social media Wednesday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told the Fox Business network Monday that Trump reached out directly to Apple to ensure the new name would be used on its service.
People in Canada who use Apple Maps still see the lake identified as Lake Ontario.
Trump signed the order to change the name last week as tensions between the United States and Canada escalated following a breakdown in trade talks.
Trump last month put 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods, from hockey sticks and cement to honey. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are set to take effect next week.
Trump singled out Canada in the Oval Office again Wednesday, complaining about everything from the automobile industry and supply-managed dairy system to banks and aircraft certification.
Trump talked about the change of leadership from former prime minister Justin Trudeau to the “new guy” he described as “nice,” and alluded to another person he called “the slob.”
“I did change the name of a certain lake to Lake America, just like I changed the name of the Gulf of … Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he said. “And people in this country love it.”
Trump said he does things “like that” because he’s fighting for the United States.
“Canada has taken advantage of us, they have ripped us off for years, and now we’re turning the tables, very easily turning the table,” Trump said.
An Ipsos/Reuters poll published earlier this week suggested the lake renaming was not popular, with two-in-three Americans disapproving of the change, and fewer than one in six Americans polled supporting it.
Last year, Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The geographic controversy led to the White House removing The Associated Press from certain duties covering the president after the news service did not use “Gulf of America” in its reporting.
The Associated Press took the White House to court, which led to then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt taking many authorities away from the White House Correspondents’ Association, the organization representing journalists who cover the president.
Google Maps updated its service to identify the body of water as “Lake America” over the weekend. The company said in a post on its corporate website the change was made because the U.S. government’s geographic names database had formally renamed the lake.
Users in Canada will still see it displayed as Lake Ontario on Google Maps, while people elsewhere in the world will see both names.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canadians know Lake Ontario will be known by its original name, “then, now and always.”
Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes, is located between Ontario and New York. The name comes from the Wendat word Ontari:io, which means “the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.”
The Canadian province is named after the lake.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large sign declaring “Lake Ontario, now and always” on Saturday.
Not all map services are following Trump’s orders. After MapQuest declared it won’t be changing Lake Ontario’s name, it surged to the top of Apple’s App Store in Canada and the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
