WASHINGTON — Trump signed the executive order Thursday directing the U.S. Interior Department to update federal geographic records and mapping systems to reflect the new name for the lake, which borders New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. The order applies to the U.S. government and does not require Canada, provincial authorities or private mapping companies to adopt the change. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the state will continue using Lake Ontario, while the broader international treatment of the name remains outside the control of the U.S. government.

The decision follows Trump's earlier effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for U.S. government purposes. That change produced differences among governments and mapping services over which name to display and contributed to a dispute between the White House and The Associated Press over the terminology used in news coverage. The latest move also carries historical significance because Lake Ontario's name predates the modern borders of the United States and Canada and has Indigenous origins. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected the U.S. renaming, maintaining that Canada will continue to use the lake's established name.

The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Reuters, CNN and BBC.