Google Maps Adopts “Lake America” Moniker Following U.S. Executive Order
OTTAWA — In a noteworthy development, Google Maps has transitioned to label the Great Lake as “Lake America” for U.S. users, following President Donald Trump’s recent executive order mandating the renaming.
Conversely, Canadian users will continue to view the lake identified as Lake Ontario on Google Maps. However, entering “Lake America” into the search function will yield pertinent results for that designation.
The tech behemoth announced this alteration in an August 29 update on its corporate website, attributing the change to the U.S. government’s geographic names database, which has officially designated the new name.
Google clarified that users located outside of Canada and the United States will be presented with both names, according to their recent statement.
“It’s official! LAKE AMERICA on Google Maps,” proclaimed White House communications director Steven Cheung in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” program, Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed skepticism about the permanence of the name change, despite Trump’s signing of the executive order.
Ford remarked, “It felt like something out of ‘Saturday Night Live’ when (Trump) ceremoniously declared it to be Lake America.”
He continued, “No one’s going to refer to it as Lake America. It has been Lake Ontario for centuries, and it shall remain so.”
On Saturday, Premier Ford unveiled a prominent sign in Winona, a quaint lakeside community within Hamilton, Ontario, boldly proclaiming, “Lake Ontario, now and always.”
In a theatrical twist, Trump shared an AI-generated video on Saturday, showcasing him replacing a Lake Ontario sign with one reading “Welcome to Lake America,” while whimsically dancing to the Village People’s song “YMCA.”
In response to Trump’s renaming initiative, Prime Minister Mark Carney took to social media on Thursday, asserting that Canadians will always regard Lake Ontario by its original name, “then, now, and forever.”
Lake Ontario, one of the five illustrious Great Lakes, lies between Ontario and the state of New York. Interestingly, the Canadian province derives its name from the lake.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul indicated after Trump’s order was signed that New York will not adopt the new name either.
The situation has been exacerbated by heightened tensions between the United States and Canada, particularly following the collapse of trade negotiations on August 21.
Both nations have leveled accusations against one another for introducing last-minute revisions to a proposed interim trade agreement.
In response, the Canadian federal government unveiled retaliatory measures exceeding $27 billion, set to be enacted on September 8, aimed at countering newly imposed U.S. tariffs.
Trump’s suggestion to rename the lake arose amid a war of words with Ontario’s premier, with Ford denouncing the president as a bully and a loser on August 24. In retaliation, Trump disparaged Ford as a “less charismatic” and less intelligent version of his late brother, Rob Ford.
During his appearance on ABC, Ford noted that tensions “escalated” between Trump and himself, yet emphasized the necessity of standing up to someone who persistently denigrates Canada.
“It’s regrettable that he stoops to such levels, and unfortunately, I did that day,” Ford remarked, expressing his hope that both parties could refocus their efforts on developing a mutually beneficial free-trade agreement.
This isn’t the first instance of Trump instituting such a change; last year, he signed a similar executive order to alter the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Although these orders are confined to U.S. federal documentation and geographic services, several online mapping applications and American media outlets have subsequently adopted the Gulf of America designation.
Source link: Orilliamatters.com.
