Apple Maps vs Google Maps vs MapQuest: Which Apps Call It Lake America And Which Still Say Lake Ontario?

Google Maps and Apple Maps now show “Lake America” to users in the United States following President Donald Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario. MapQuest has retained “Lake Ontario,” setting up a clear difference among the three mapping services.

Trump’s executive order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, working with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, to rename the lake and update the Geographic Names Information System, or GNIS, within 30 days. The order says the change is intended to apply to U.S. federal references and does not itself establish a naming requirement for Canada or international organizations.

The U.S. action applies to a lake shared by the United States and Canada. Canada maintains its own geographic naming system through the Canadian Geographical Names Database, which continues to provide official geographic-name information for the country.

Google was the first of the major mapping platforms to publicly explain its approach. In an Aug. 29 post, the company said GNIS had formally changed the U.S. name to “Lake America.” Google said U.S. users would see “Lake America,” Canadian users would continue to see “Lake Ontario”, and users outside the two countries would see both names.

Apple followed on Sept. 1, according to Reuters, with its U.S. version displaying “Lake America,” its Canadian version retaining “Lake Ontario” and international users seeing both names.

MapQuest Keeps Lake Ontario

MapQuest has taken a different approach by keeping the name “Lake Ontario” on its maps.

The company posted on X, “We’re not changing the name of Lake Ontario. Name it whatever you want at your leisure,” and included a link to a satirical tool that allowed users to rename the lake themselves. The decision has attracted attention as the mapping service has experienced a sharp increase in downloads.

“What started as a joke about being so old that we didn’t know how to update our maps quickly turned into a viral hit,” Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, said, “Once we saw the rankings start moving, it became clear people were speaking with their downloads. They want a mapping app that uses names they know and are familiar with.”

MapQuest also reported that usage increased roughly 50 times following the change. Berger said the company believes users are opening the app and testing the service rather than simply downloading it as a symbolic gesture.

MapQuest Sees Surge in Downloads

MapQuest’s decision has coincided with a significant rise in downloads.

According to Appfigures data cited by Forbes, MapQuest recorded about 80,000 iOS downloads on Aug. 30, compared with a daily average of about 500 in early August.

Google Play downloads reached about 20,000 on Aug. 29, compared with an average of roughly 1,000 a day earlier in the month. Appfigures estimated that MapQuest surpassed 100,000 downloads across the U.S. and Canada on Aug. 30, its strongest single day in a decade.

The surge also pushed MapQuest to the top of download rankings in the United States and Canada, according to Forbes. The company, which launched its online mapping service in 1996, had faced declining relevance as Google Maps, Apple Maps and other navigation services became dominant.

Why Canada Still Says Lake Ontario

Canada’s official geographic-name database continues to provide information through Natural Resources Canada. The lake is also deeply connected to the history and geography of Ontario, including the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples in the region. Parks Canada identifies the Lake Ontario region among areas connected to the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the U.S. renaming effort on X, writing, “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.”

The statement underscored the difference between the U.S. federal naming decision and Canada’s continued use of Lake Ontario.

Lake Name Change Comes Amid U.S.-Canada Trade Dispute

The United States imposed a 50% tariff on nearly $20 billion in Canadian imports under Section 338 actions announced July 20, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Canada subsequently announced additional counter-tariffs covering C$27.6 billion in U.S. imports, with rates of 15%, 25% and 50% scheduled to take effect Sept. 8. The Canadian measures target products including steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.

The trade negotiations were suspended after Canada said the United States had proposed terms it considered unacceptable. Canada’s Department of Finance said Aug. 27 that the government had suspended negotiations rather than accept a deal it said would undermine Canadian workers, businesses and strategic sectors.

Most Americans Oppose Lake America Name Change

The redesignation has also gained some traction in the United States, based on a poll by Reuters released after Trump’s executive order.

The poll indicated that 14 per cent of those polled said they would back renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, compared to 63 per cent who disagreed. Separately, 20% supported the tariffs on Canadian goods and 57% opposed them.

The figures indicate that the lake-name change has not attracted majority support among Americans surveyed, while opposition to the tariffs was also higher than support.

The naming dispute follows Trump’s January 2025 executive order changing the U.S. federal name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Google Maps and Apple Maps subsequently adopted the U.S. federal terminology while maintaining different naming conventions for users in other countries.

For Lake Ontario, the difference is now visible directly to users; Google Maps and Apple Maps show “Lake America” in the United States, while MapQuest continues to show “Lake Ontario.” Google says users outside the United States and Canada will see both names.