Apple Adopts 'Lake America'; MapQuest Tops App Store

Apple Adopts 'Lake America'; MapQuest Tops App Store

A hand holding a magnifying glass over a rolled paper map of a gulf coastline

The News

Apple has relabeled Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for U.S. users of its Maps app, following President Donald Trump's executive order and Google's earlier move, CTV News, The Guardian and the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Trump said Apple made the change for him and declared the renaming "complete, ratified and binding," according to The Independent.

One holdout is winning customers for it. MapQuest — the once-dominant mapping app most Americans stopped opening years ago — is now the No. 1 free app in Apple's U.S. App Store after refusing to adopt the new name, TechCrunch, the New York Post and the Washington Examiner reported.

The MapQuest Surge

TechCrunch reported that MapQuest drew more than half of its 2026 U.S. downloads in just six days after taking its stand.

Per the Wire's source reporting, hundreds of thousands of users downloaded the app following its Aug. 27 announcement, and usage ran roughly 50 times its normal rate.

A MapQuest executive described the surge as "surreal" to New York Magazine, which called the company the unlikely winner of Trump's trade war with Canada.

The Order

Trump signed an executive order Aug. 27 directing federal agencies to use the name "Lake America" within 30 days, per the Wire's source reporting. The order governs U.S. federal usage; it cannot bind Canada or international bodies.

Google Maps updated the label after the name appeared in federal records. Apple followed this week. MSNBC reported that MapQuest has refused to rename the lake on its app.

Reactions

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and predates both countries, per the Wire's source reporting.

Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca called the order an attempt to erase Indigenous history and asked that it be rescinded.

The right-leaning press treated the corporate capitulations as a win: RedState framed the follow-up name change as certain to "enrage leftists," and The Western Journal reported that Apple "relents to pressure from Trump."

More

The renaming sits inside a broader U.S.–Canada trade fight; per the Wire's source reporting, 50% tariffs on some imports followed the two countries' failure to reach a deal.

And the president is not done. New York Magazine noted Trump has since floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz the "Trump Strait" — the same instinct, applied to a war zone.

What's Next

Watch whether MapQuest's download spike survives the news cycle, whether any other major mapping service holds the old name, and whether Ottawa treats the label as a bargaining chip or beneath response.

Colleges Condemn Students Mocking Kirk Assassination Anniversary

Charleston White Arrested Again on Florida Battery Charge

Border Patrol Rescues MS NOW Crew in Desert

Supreme Court Restores Missouri's Old House Map

Alaska Drops Felony Voter Charges Against Samoans

Trespasser Breaches Harris' Malibu Estate; No Arrest

Hegseth Pressed Downed Airmen Into 60 Minutes

Houthis Seize Mokha, Choking Saudi Oil Exports

Altman Rules Out OpenAI IPO This Year

Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case

Judge: Trump Broke Law Halving FEMA Staff

Maher Calls Democrats' Gaza Genocide Claim a Lie

Blizzard Revives StarCraft, Sends Diablo to Netflix

Trump's Queens Childhood Home Sells for $1.93M

Scientists Find New Virus in Tick Invading US

Britain Bans Settlement Imports; US States Threaten Payback

Prison Fire Kills 7 as Kurds Protest Killing

Kosovo Rallies for Ex-President Before Hague Verdict

Cruz Booed at GameDay Over College Sports Bill

Blast Hits Bulgarian Arms Plant Supplying Ukraine