{"id":21610,"date":"2026-09-02T14:44:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/trump-loses-online-too-the-app-that-keeps-the-name-lake-ontario-is-a-hit\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T14:47:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:47:45","slug":"trump-loses-online-too-the-app-that-keeps-the-name-lake-ontario-is-a-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/trump-loses-online-too-the-app-that-keeps-the-name-lake-ontario-is-a-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Loses Online, Too: The App That Keeps the Name “Lake Ontario” Is a Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can a lake change its name by presidential order? On paper, in the United States, yes. On maps of the rest of the world, definitely not. The dispute between Washington and Ottawa over Lake Ontario has made its way onto smartphone screens and raised a curious\u2014but by no means trivial\u2014question: Who decides what a geographic location should be called when two countries advocate different names?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The story stems from an executive order issued by Donald Trump, which mandated that Lake Ontario be renamed \u201cLake America\u201d in the United States.<\/strong> The measure comes amid a period of intense trade tensions with Canada, marked in part by U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and retaliatory measures announced by Ottawa.<\/p>\n\n

The change had an immediate impact on digital maps. Google Maps<\/strong> adopted the new name for U.S. users, kept \u201cLake Ontario\u201d in Canada, and displays both names to users in other countries. Apple<\/strong> took a similar approach. Geography, then, changes depending on where you\u2019re looking from.<\/p>\n\n

A matter of boundaries\u2014including linguistic ones<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

With an area of over 19,000 square kilometers, Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five North American Great Lakes<\/strong> and lies right along the border between New York State and the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a shared body of water, a physical feature that predates current political borders.<\/p>\n\n

Even its name tells a story that predates the modern-day United States and Canada. \u201cOntario\u201d derives from the language of the Wendat<\/strong>, an indigenous people of North America, and has been interpreted as referring to a \u201cbeautiful lake\u201d or a \u201cgreat lake.\u201d The Grand Chief of the Wendat Nation, Pierre Picard<\/strong>, has opposed the American initiative precisely because of its cultural and historical significance.<\/p>\n\n

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/strong> rejected the name change, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford opted for a very concrete response: a large sign appeared near Grimsby with a phrase destined to be photographed more than discussed in diplomatic circles: \u201cLake Ontario. Now and always\u201d (Lake Ontario. Now and always).<\/p>\n\n

No global authority on place names<\/h3>\n\n

The crucial question, however, remains: which name is the \u201creal\u201d one? There is no international authority with the power to impose the name of a geographic location on all states. The UN hasUNGEGN<\/a><\/strong>, the group of experts on geographical names tasked with promoting standardization and international cooperation, but it cannot order Washington or Ottawa which name to use.<\/p>\n\n

Each country therefore establishes its own official criteria. In the United States, the authority is the Board on Geographic Names and <\/strong>the Geographic Names Information System<\/strong>. Digital platforms can decide how to translate, pair, or display those names, but they must also deal with an inevitable reality: the same territory can have different names, all of which are legitimate in their respective contexts.<\/p>\n\n

This is what is happening on Lake Ontario. Technology is not simply updating a map\u2014it is revealing the political nature of place-name conventions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

MapQuest’s Unconventional Choice<\/h3>\n\n

In this context, the most interesting decision may have come from a name that seemed destined for the internet museum: MapQuest<\/strong>. The digital mapping service, launched in 1996 and gradually overshadowed by the rise of Google Maps and GPS navigation systems, announced that it would not change the lake\u2019s name<\/strong>. CEO Doug Berger<\/strong> explained that the company intends to keep the names familiar to users, following the same approach it took in the previous dispute over the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n\n

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We are aware that Lake Ontario is being correctly labeled on our map.<\/p>— MapQuest (@MapQuest) August 31, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>