Apple Joins Google in Renaming Lake Ontario 'Lake America' Amidst US-Canada Trade Tensions

Apple has joined Google in complying with President Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario 'Lake America' on its Apple Maps service. The change, which affects only users in the United States, is a response to Trump's directive signed on August 27. The order gave the Interior Department 30 days to update the lake's name in U.S. geographic naming services and other federal databases.

Apple did not comment on its decision to make the change, but Google Maps explained its reasoning last week, stating that it updates names based on changes in official government sources like the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). However, MapQuest has refused to adopt this policy, choosing instead to continue using the name 'Lake Ontario'.

MapQuest's decision appears to be paying off, as downloads of its app have skyrocketed since Apple and Google made their changes. The company reached No. 1 in the U.S. App Store's Top charts on September 1 and has also risen to No. 6 overall in Google's Play Store.

This is not the first time that Apple and Google have deferred to Trump's name-changing orders. Last year, both companies changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' after a similar order from the President.