Several Canadian websites, including government services, briefly displayed Lake Ontario under the name “Lake America” on Sunday, despite Google saying its decision to rename the lake would apply only to users in the United States, reported CBC News.
The issue emerged a day after Google Maps announced that it had adopted the new name in accordance with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump. Google said the change was made because the US government’s geographic names database had formally recorded the lake under the new designation.
However, maps operated by several Canadian organizations also began showing “Lake America.” According to CBC News, the affected services included Hydro One’s power outage map, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s store locator, GO Transit’s station finder and a federal government map covering housing and infrastructure.
Hydro One acknowledged the problem and said the incorrect name was caused by an outside mapping provider.
“We are aware that Lake Ontario is being incorrectly labeled on our outage map,” a spokesperson told CBC News in an email, adding that Hydro One regrets the “error.”
“The issue originates from a third-party mapping service,” the utility said. “We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference.”
Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency responsible for GO Transit, also confirmed that it was addressing the problem.
“We are actively reviewing our websites to make sure they all identify Lake Ontario by its correct name: Lake Ontario,” Metrolinx said.
“We are in the process of disabling the map function on the GO stations’ page where this occurred.”
Meanwhile, US mapping service MapQuest said on social media that it would not adopt Trump’s preferred name. Apple has not publicly stated whether it will make any changes.
Trump announced Thursday that he intended for Lake Ontario to be called “Lake America” in the United States, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Ottawa over trade.
The president signed an executive order at the Resolute Desk directing the Interior Department to change the lake’s name in the US geographic naming system. The order allows 30 days for the department to carry out the change, despite Trump’s statement that it was “official, effective immediately.”
Trump said he had “notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we’ve done everything that you have to do.”
The naming dispute comes as the two countries impose retaliatory tariffs on each other’s goods. Washington announced 50% tariffs covering $20 billion worth of Canadian products after trade talks broke down, while Canada responded with tariffs on $20 billion in US goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and agricultural equipment.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back against the renaming effort, emphasizing the historical origins of the lake’s name.
“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.”
“The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” added Carney.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” concluded the Prime Minister.
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