Google Maps accused of bending knee to Trump with ‘Lake America’ name change

Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s executive order rebranding the lake. The move has prompted backlash from critics.

In a Saturday blog post, Google explained that U.S. users would see “Lake America” displayed over the Great Lake, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border.

“The U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has formally changed the name for ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ in the United States,” Google said. “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.”

“These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now,” the company added.

The update came two days after Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to use the new name for the lake in official documents and records. While the president can direct how the federal government refers to geographic features, he cannot compel foreign nations, private entities or even U.S. states to follow his lead.

The White House and a number of Trump’s supporters applauded Google’s move. But critics accused the Silicon Valley company of bending to pressure from the Trump administration.

“Google Maps has now capitulated to Donald Trump and changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America,” MeidasTouch, a progressive media company, wrote on X.

“Google goes along with trump ‘lake america’ pronouncement,” wrote Ian Bremmer, an American political scientist. He noted that Apple Maps still identifies the body of water as Lake Ontario. “Apple thinking longer term,” he wrote.

“So basically they’ll allow any POTUS exec order to rename stuff,” another user chimed in. “No reason he doesn’t just start renaming things after his friends.”

Some Canadian commenters were particularly incensed. “Time to stop using @Google Cowards,” Eric Reguly, a Canadian newspaper columnist, wrote on X.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Google directed The Independent to the company’s blog post.

Trump’s executive order — which echoes a similar move last year renaming the Gulf of Mexico — triggered a response from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on social media.

“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney wrote in a Thursday X post. “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”

The rebranding effort comes amid a bitter tariff war between the U.S. and Canada, longtime trading partners and allies.

Last Saturday, the U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian exports after last-minute talks between Washington and Ottawa broke down. Canadian officials, who likened the move to an act of war, responded by slapping retaliatory levies of up to 50 percent on a range of U.S. goods.

Relations between the two nations have deteriorated since Trump took office, due in part to the Republican president’s numerous tariffs and his claim that Canada should become the “51st state.”