Google Maps will show ‘Lake America’ in U.S., instead of ‘Lake Ontario’

Open this photo in gallery:A sign reading "Lake Ontario, Now and Always," unveiled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Fifty Point Conservation Area, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America," near Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday.Carlos Osorio/ReutersGoogle Maps has changed the name of “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” for U.S. users to reflect President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the lake, according to a Google statement.Trump announced on Thursday that he was changing the name of the smallest of the five Great Lakes, part of an escalating trade feud with Canada that has prompted the two countries to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars in goods.Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario. What does it actually change?The president’s order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which sets the standards for official U.S. maps. It does not have any impact on Canadian naming conventions or how the rest of the world refers to the lake.“Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see ’Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ’Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names,” Google said in a blog post issued on Saturday.Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered President Donald Trump’s “Lake America” decree Saturday with a billboard-sized message on the Canadian shoreline — “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” — as Canadian leaders met the move with ridicule rather than outrage.The Associated PressThe White House, Carney’s office and Ford’s office did not immediately comment on Sunday on Google’s decision.Google Maps made a similar change to the Gulf of Mexico last year, labelling it the “Gulf of America” following Trump’s executive order on his first day in office renaming the body of water.To First Nations that named Lake Ontario, Trump’s threat doesn’t hold waterCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately rejected the lake’s name change on Thursday. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, which shares a long border with Canada, declared that “New York won’t be calling it that,” while Phil Scott, the Republican governor of neighbouring Vermont, called Trump’s decision “petty and disappointing” on social media.The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, on Saturday unveiled a large lakeside sign that reads, “Lake Ontario: Now and Always,” in both English and French.“President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you, the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario,” Ford said.