Tech
‘Lake America’ Turns Trump’s Canada Fight Into A Tech Headache
Apple Maps has relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S.
Key takeaways
- Apple relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S. users by September 2.
- Donald Trump contacted Apple directly about making the geographic name change.
- Google also updated its maps to show "Lake America" to U.S. users, following its policy of using official government names.
- Canadian leaders, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney, rejected the rename.
- MapQuest declined to change the lake's name and has seen a surge in usage and downloads.
Apple Maps has relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S. users, following a similar update by Google. The change comes after President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. geographic naming service to update the name amid a trade war with Canada, and reportedly contacted Apple directly. Users outside the U.S. still see "Lake Ontario," and Canadian leaders have rejected the rename. Meanwhile, MapQuest declined to change the name and has seen a surge in downloads.
The geographic dispute turns into a tech neutrality debate as platforms adopt political renames.
In their words
“A map’s job is accuracy, not opinion. The moment a naming update looks like Apple took a political side, the tool stops feeling neutral, and neutrality is the entire product.”
“It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”
By the numbers
- 1996
- Launch year of MapQuest
How it unfolded
- Apple relabeled Lake Ontario as Lake America for U.S. users
- Controversy reported over Apple and Google map updates
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Common questions
- What happened with Apple Maps?
- Apple relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S. users by September 2.
- Where can I read the original report?
- Read the full report at Google News.
