MapQuest has publicly rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”, declaring simply: “We’re not changing it.”
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, 27 August directing federal agencies to adopt “Lake America” as the official US government name for Lake Ontario.
Within hours, online mapping service MapQuest made clear it had no intention of following suit.
Posting an image of its map showing the familiar name Lake Ontario, the company wrote:
“We’re not changing it.”
The response quickly attracted tens of thousands of likes and considerably more attention than MapQuest’s social media account would ordinarily receive.
The company then leaned further into the row by launching an online generator allowing users to invent their own alternative names for the lake.
What Trump’s executive order actually does
Despite some of the more dramatic descriptions circulating online, Trump’s order does not give the US government the power to rename Lake Ontario for Canada or force private mapping companies to use “Lake America”.
The executive order instructs the US Secretary of the Interior and Board on Geographic Names to make the change within 30 days.
It also directs the federal Geographic Names Information System to remove references to Lake Ontario and requires US federal departments and agencies to use “Lake America” on government maps, contracts, documents and communications.
The order therefore determines what the US federal government calls the lake.
It does not determine what Canada, international organisations, state governments, news organisations or private businesses call it.
Reuters reported that approximately 52 per cent of Lake Ontario’s surface area lies in Canada, with the remainder adjoining New York State. Reuters
Canada: It is still Lake Ontario
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was equally clear in his response.
Carney pointed out that the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and predates both the Confederation of Canada and the United States Declaration of Independence.
He wrote:
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”
The name itself has Indigenous origins. The Associated Press traces it to the Huron word oniatarí:io, meaning “lake of shining waters”. Reuters reported a Wendat interpretation meaning “the lake is beautiful, great”. Reuters
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was similarly dismissive, saying:
“It’s Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever.”
Perhaps more awkwardly for Trump, opposition to the new name is not confined to Canada.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state borders Lake Ontario on the American side, responded:
“New York won’t be calling it that.”
Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott also described Trump’s decision as “petty and disappointing”. Reuters
MapQuest finds itself back in the spotlight
For MapQuest, the controversy has produced an unexpected burst of publicity.
Launched in 1996, MapQuest was one of the first major online mapping services and became synonymous with printing out driving directions in the days before smartphones and Google Maps.
Business Insider reported that MapQuest’s initial “We’re not changing it” post received more than 70,000 likes, while none of the company’s 24 posts during July had received more than two.
Even Trump’s son Eric joined the conversation, responding:
“Shocking to see you’re still alive.”
MapQuest subsequently created a tool allowing visitors to generate their own names for the lake, repeating its position that it would continue to display Lake Ontario. Business Insider
What will Google and Apple do?
The bigger question may now be how the world’s dominant mapping services respond.
Google and Apple adopted “Gulf of America” for users in the United States after Trump ordered the US government to rename the Gulf of Mexico in 2025, while users outside the US continued to see versions of the original name.
As of Friday, neither company had publicly confirmed whether it would make a similar change to Lake Ontario. Business Insider
MapQuest, however, has already answered the question.
On MapQuest, at least, Lake Ontario is staying Lake Ontario.
