Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Google Maps changes Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ in US searches
The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario - are a
group of five large interconnected lakes in North America that provide drinking
water for more than 40 million people in Canada and the USA. Four of the lakes,
Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, sit along the border between Canada and the
United States while Lake Michigan lies entirely within the US. Lake Ontario is
the smallest and easternmost of the five lakes, and the Canada-United States
border spans the center of the lake. Ontario is the most populous province of
Canada and is the home to Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and Toronto, the largest
city. Though called by different names during the French colonial era, Lake
Ontario has been the common name on both sides of the border. On January 20,
2025, US President Trump directed US federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of
Mexico as the Gulf of America to promote national pride. Likewise, after
failing to reach a trade deal with Canada, he issued an executive order on
August 27, renaming "Lake Ontario" to “Lake America.” Now, if you look at Google Maps
in the US, you’ll find “Lake America” instead of “Lake Ontario”, while it
remains “Lake Ontario” in Canada and other countries. After a few days, Apple followed suit. Will other apps, maps, globes,
and publications follow suit, or wait until the midterm elections in November?
Read the article and learn what the name change of a lake could mean to
the US and Canada.
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