Apple has followed Google’s example by renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on its Apple Maps platform. This change was implemented shortly after President Trump issued an executive order on August 27 instructing the renaming, citing the lake’s economic importance to the United States. The update affects Apple Maps users within the U.S., while Canadian users will still see the original name, Lake Ontario. Outside of these two countries, maps will display both names.

The order mandated the U.S. Interior Department to adjust federal databases and geographic naming services accordingly within 30 days. Apple’s action reflects its compliance with government directives, similar to Google, which also updated its maps to display Lake America in the United States. However, not all map providers are following suit—MapQuest, for instance, has resisted the renaming, choosing to maintain the familiar Lake Ontario name and has seen significant user growth as a result.

The renaming move has intensified tensions between the United States and Canada, especially amid ongoing strained trade discussions. Apple did not provide a statement on the change, whereas Google explained that its naming updates align with official governmental information sources like the Geographic Names Information System. Such compliance follows a precedent set last year, when both companies renamed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in response to another executive order from Trump.

This naming shift has created notable market dynamics within mapping services. MapQuest’s refusal to adopt the new name boosted its downloads, propelling it to the top spot in the U.S. App Store’s navigation category and ahead of popular apps including ChatGPT as of September 1. The heightened competition among mapping platforms symbolizes a broader debate over user preferences versus governmental naming policies in digital cartography.