Google Maps Splits Lake Ontario Name by Country After US Renames It Lake America
Google applies the same split-notational approach it used for the Gulf of America, letting the U.S. federal name stand in the U.S. while preserving the original name for Canadian users.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Google Maps will follow the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System and display the renamed Lake America within the United States after President Trump's executive order. Canada will keep Lake Ontario, and other countries will see both names listed. The province of Ontario has installed a protest sign.
Google Maps confirmed its policy for the lake that spans the U.S.-Canada border after GNIS updated the federal name. Within the U.S., the map will now show Lake America. Canadian users will keep Lake Ontario, and users outside both countries will see the two names together.
A check from Japan at the time of writing showed only Lake Ontario on the map, with the detail panel listing Lake Ontario (Lake America). The change follows President Trump's executive order, signed after a trade dispute with Canada, citing the lake's economic resources and importance to the U.S. economy.
The province of Ontario has objected and erected a large sign on the lake. The move mirrors how Google Maps handled the Gulf of Mexico after it became the Gulf of America, keeping the older name in Mexico.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.