Apple changed the name of Lake Ontario at Trump’s request

Interestingly, the update happened on the same day that John Ternus became the new CEO of Apple. With this move, Apple became the second American technology giant to comply with President Trump’s controversial executive order, after Google introduced the same change to its maps for American users a few days earlier.

Direct pressure from the White House

Although Trump’s executive order cannot legally force private companies to change naming conventions, it does change the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Riječ is about a reference guide that standardizes the way the federal government names geographic features, and companies like Apple and Google often rely on that system to create their own maps.

However, statements from Trump administration officials suggest that the president has taken direct steps to ensure that private companies, which depend on the federal government for various approvals and contracts, comply with the change. US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum confirmed in an interview with Fox News that Trump “directly contacted Apple” last week to request a change in the name of the lake in their app.

Not everyone obeyed the order

Apple’s decision follows the example of Google, which stated in a statement that their maps adhere to the names listed in “official government sources”. As a result, users in the US now see “Lake America”, while Canadian users still see “Lake Ontario”. Viewers in the rest of the world are shown both labels. This is not the first such case; both companies previously, also at Trump’s request, renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “American Gulf” on their maps for the American market, and Mount Denali in Alaska was returned to its old name of Mount McKinley.

However, not all digital map companies have agreed to the change. MapQuest, an Internet site popular in the 1990s and 2000s, refused to change its name, saying in a post on Twitter that went viral: “Call it whatever you want when you feel like it.” The decision proved extremely popular among users, and their smartphone app soon became the most downloaded free app in Apple’s AppStore in the US and Canada.

The move comes amid a trade war with Canada

Trump’s effort to change the name of Lake Ontario comes at a time of strained relations between the US and Canada during his second term. Just before the executive order was passed, trade talks between the longtime allies broke down, resulting in the U.S. imposing 50 percent tariffs on nearly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada has promised to retaliate by imposing its own tariffs on US exports of the same value.

This move caused strong resistance and ridicule from Canadian leaders. Ontario Premier Doug Ford placed a large sign on the Canadian shore of the lake reading “Lake Ontario. Now and always,” saying the renaming effort was a result of Ontario and Canada “fighting for themselves.”

Lake Ontario, located between the two countries, takes its name from the language of the indigenous Wendat people, and “Ontarí:io” is believed to mean “big lake” or “beautiful water”. Trump, meanwhile, seeks to increase American influence in the Western Hemisphere, which includes changing naming conventions and promoting English as an official language in the US.