Trump demands Apple rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'; Interior Secretary says change coming soon

US President Donald Trump has officially renamed Lake Ontario. Source: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has called on Apple to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America," according to US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who announced the development on Monday.

Burgum stated that Trump "directly contacted Apple" and expressed confidence that the change would take effect soon.

"I am sure we will see this change soon," Burgum told Fox News.

Apple has not yet commented on the matter. As of Monday afternoon, Apple Maps still displayed only the name "Lake Ontario," with the designation appearing over the Canadian water border.

Google Maps Already Implements Change

Over the weekend, competitor Google Maps introduced the new name "Lake America" for the body of water for users in the United States. The lake lies between the US state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Google cited Trump's recent executive order and its existing practice of using names established by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

"People using Maps in the USA will see 'Lake America,' while users in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario.' Outside the USA and Canada, both names will be displayed," Google explained on Saturday.

Apple Maps was already slower than Google in reacting to the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America earlier this year, when Trump also renamed "Mount Denali" to "Mount McKinley."

Trade Dispute Context

Trump ordered the latest renaming in the course of his trade dispute with Canada. However, the President cannot force Canada to adopt the change, and Canada immediately rejected the idea.

US Supreme Court Allows Continued Construction of Trump's Ballroom

In a separate development, the US Supreme Court has allowed the continued construction of the controversial ballroom at the White House for the time being.

A narrow majority of five conservative justices ruled on Monday that the government has good prospects of having a lawsuit by the preservation organization National Trust for Historic Preservation against the project dismissed.

The court emphasized that it had not thereby ruled on the legality of the construction project. The government will likely be able to demonstrate that the organization cannot sufficiently show that it is directly harmed by the project and therefore has standing to sue.

The three liberal justices and the conservative Chief Justice John Roberts dissented from the decision.

Roberts had already temporarily suspended a construction halt imposed by an appeals court on August 21, allowing the Supreme Court to examine the arguments of both sides. A federal court stopped work on the ballroom in April but allowed the construction of an underground military bunker. An appeals court upheld the construction halt in early August, noting that such a renovation of the White House requires the explicit approval of Congress.

In October 2025, Trump had the historic East Wing of the White House demolished to make room for a ballroom for up to 1,000 guests. According to the President, the project is to be privately funded. US media reported, however, that a large portion of the costs, now estimated at up to $600 million, would be covered by other means.