Apple Maps is at the center of a new naming dispute after President Trump reportedly contacted the company directly about relabeling Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” According to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the president has personally reached out to Apple to request the change.
The push follows Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he intended to rename the smallest of the five Great Lakes. The move is part of an escalating trade dispute with Canada, which has led both nations to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars in goods.
Interior Secretary Confirms Direct Contact
Speaking on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” Burgum indicated that a change could appear in Apple Maps in the near future. “The president reached out to Apple directly, so I’m sure that we may be seeing that change coming up soon to Lake America,” he said during the interview.
As of now, Apple has not publicly confirmed whether it will implement the relabeling. The request marks the latest instance of the administration seeking to alter geographic labels displayed on major digital mapping platforms used across the United States.
Google Maps Already Made the Switch
Apple is not the only mapping service caught up in the effort. Google Maps has already updated the label for U.S. users following the president’s executive order issued last week. The rename currently appears for American users of Google’s platform.
This is not the first time Apple has faced a similar situation. Earlier, the company updated Apple Maps to relabel the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America after a comparable executive order. That precedent suggests Apple has a framework for handling federally directed naming changes on its mapping service.
The Lake Ontario matter ties directly into the broader trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa. The renaming announcement came alongside reciprocal tariffs affecting billions of dollars in goods traded between the two countries, underscoring how the dispute has extended beyond commerce into symbolic and digital territory.
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area. For now, its designation in Apple Maps remains unchanged, while Google Maps already reflects the new label for users in the United States.
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Image: 9to5mac.com
