President Donald Trump followed through on a pledge, or perhaps a threat he’s been tossing out since discussions with Canada faltered.
By signing an executive order on Thursday, Trump directed that Lake Ontario be renamed “Lake America” on the American side.
Yet even mapmakers and cartographers aren’t cooperating with his latest branding stunt, at least for the moment.
MapQuest, the internet’s oldest digital mapping service, is flatly declining to alter the name on its maps.
MapQuest announced in a Thursday social media post, shortly after the order, “We’re not changing the name of Lake Ontario. Rename it as you wish in your own time.”
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The post included a link to a bespoke name generator, inviting the public to rename Lake Ontario to whatever they please—and asking users to tag MapQuest to share their favorite creations.
Social media embraced it, with people posting both praise and criticism of Trump over what opponents call his petty antics.
“Holy crap, you rule,” a Threads user exclaimed with glee.
Another criticized another mapping app for going along with what critics describe as Trump’s insanity.
“Nice to see MapQuest (unlike Google) holding firm on map sanity.”
That remark directly referenced Google Maps yielding to Trump’s earlier order—when he formally labeled the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” at the start of his second term.
Critics also ridiculed the lake’s renaming by targeting the well-known HOMES acronym—standing for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
As a Michigan native commented: “I grew up in Michigan and learned the Great Lakes’ names with this acronym: HOMES. I suppose this will now become SHAME, and that seems quite apt.”
Another user simply said, “Thank goodness. If you all keep indulging this madness, it will never end. I hope you didn’t go along with the Gulf of America nonsense either.”
The answer is no. MapQuest did not alter the Gulf of Mexico’s name, either.
Trump’s executive order directs federal agencies to use “Lake America” on all official documents, but it does not compel mapping companies or public entities to change the name.
The Department of the Interior has 30 days to update the federal Geographic Names Information System. According to reports, the change will apply to federal maps, military records, and official government communications.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacted promptly to Trump’s latest maneuver.
“The name is more than four centuries old, predating both Canada’s confederation and the United States’ Declaration of Independence,” Carney posted on X.
“We know that America is shifting. Their commercial ties, their foreign policy, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney added.
Then he asserted, “Canadians also recognize that to name reality is to call it Lake Ontario—now, then, and always.”
“Don’t take it seriously,” one commenter replied to Carney. “It’s akin to a toddler coloring a zebra in purple and orange.”
“What’s wrong with him and his childish fixation?” another asked.
Shortly after resuming his duties in January 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” Yet the move gained little traction abroad, among media outlets, or with the general public.
The name change affects only federal agencies and documents.
During his second term, Trump has pursued—and in several cases achieved—renaming landmarks, infrastructure, and institutions after himself.
Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach—near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate—officially became President Donald J. Trump International Airport on July 9 under Florida state legislation. The airport’s three-letter code officially switched from PBI to DJT.
That followed the State Department’s late-2025 move to rebrand Washington’s U.S. Institute of Peace as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.
Other attempts to rename prominent public landmarks after Trump—such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New York’s Penn Station, and Washington Dulles International Airport—have thus far failed to take hold.
Trump’s calculated renaming of Lake Ontario comes on the heels of the collapse of trade talks with Canada on Aug. 21.
New 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian imports took effect the following day. The broad list of targeted goods includes construction materials, spirits, certain clothing, and sporting equipment—including hockey sticks.
In response, Canada announced plans to impose matching retaliatory tariffs beginning Sept. 8 on U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.
