Google Maps began showing "Lake America" in place of "Lake Ontario" for U.S.-based users over the weekend, following the executive order President Trump signed August 27 directing federal agencies to adopt the new name. [1] Google said the change pulls from the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, which formally updated the designation in recent days, and that the company is applying its "long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country." [1] Canadian users still see "Lake Ontario"; users elsewhere see both names, with Lake Ontario listed first. [1]

Apple Maps had not followed as of Sunday, and MapQuest said earlier in the week it would not change its own labeling. [1] University of Victoria geographer Reuben Rose-Redwood called the shift unsurprising, noting Google, Apple and Microsoft generally default to whatever a government's official federal names are — the same policy that produced "Gulf of America" earlier this year. [1] Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded with a lakeshore billboard reading "Lake Ontario: Now and Always" and told reporters the "rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario." [1]

The dispute traces to a tariff fight: Trump's renaming threat followed Ford's remark that Trump "can kiss my a—" over auto tariffs. [1] Rose-Redwood predicts the change "will not last beyond the Trump presidency." [1] The lake itself, and Canada's claim to roughly half its waters, remains unchanged by any map label.

-- SAMUEL CRANE, Washington