Trump Wants Apple To Follow Google Maps And Rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump has personally approached Apple over his push to rename Lake Ontario“Lake America”, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum saying the technology company could soon make the change on its mapping service.

Trump 'directly' asks Apple to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America

The development comes days after Trump formally ordered the lake to be renamed in US federal databases, adding another flashpoint to increasingly strained relations between Washington and Ottawa.

"The president reached out to Apple directly, so I'm sure that we may be seeing that change coming up soon to Lake America," Burgum said in an interview on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria programme on Monday.

Apple had not immediately commented on the remarks.

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Google Maps has already made the change for users in the United States. The company implemented“Lake America” over the weekend, following Trump's executive order, while retaining“Lake Ontario” for users in Canada.

For users outside the US and Canada, Google said both names will be displayed.

The naming dispute is rooted in Trump's executive order, signed on Thursday, which directed the change in the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The system establishes standards for official US maps and geographic references.

The order, however, does not alter Canada's naming conventions. Nor does it determine what the rest of the world calls the lake.

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes and the smallest by surface area. It lies between the US state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario and forms part of the international border between the two countries.

Trump's decision to rename the lake comes against the backdrop of a wider trade dispute with Canada. His administration has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, prompting retaliatory measures from Ottawa and adding further tension to bilateral relations.

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The move has also raised a practical question for private mapping platforms. While US federal agencies are required to follow the new designation in their official geographic databases, companies such as Apple and Google decide independently how names are presented to users in different countries.

Google has already adopted“Lake America” for its US audience. Apple Maps, meanwhile, had not changed its display name as of Monday, with Burgum indicating that Trump's direct appeal could lead to a similar update.

For now, Lake Ontario remains the name used by Canadian authorities, while mapping conventions differ depending on the user's location.

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