Several Canadian websites, including those for the federal government, exhibited maps featuring Lake Ontario relabeled as Lake America following an adjustment by Google Maps to adhere to a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Google stated in a post on its corporate site that the modification was made as the U.S. government’s geographic names database officially changed the lake’s name. The alteration was intended for U.S. users, but multiple Ontario and Canadian websites depicted Lake America on their maps.
Entities such as Hydro One’s outage map, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store locator, GO Transit’s station finder, and the federal government’s housing and infrastructure map all displayed Lake America. Hydro One acknowledged the mistake, attributing it to a third-party mapping service, and was working to rectify the error promptly.
Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency overseeing GO Transit, acknowledged the issue and was taking steps to ensure the accurate labeling of Lake Ontario on their websites. By Sunday evening, the problematic GO Transit map had been disabled, and the LCBO map had been corrected to display Lake Ontario.
MapQuest, an American online mapping service, announced it would retain the lake’s original name, while Apple had not made any public statements on the issue.
Tech analyst Carmi Levy explained that Canadian websites like Hydro One and the LCBO likely utilized Google’s API for their maps, causing them to default to Lake America due to the API not being location-aware. Levy suggested a straightforward fix where developers set their region to Canada to localize their maps, but noted that until all developers adopt this solution, discrepancies may persist.
Google Maps typically tailors results based on the user’s location, ensuring that Canadian users still see Lake Ontario even if they search for Lake America. However, the global search index now lists Lake America as searchable worldwide, with searches outside North America displaying Lake Ontario followed by Lake America in parentheses.
The situation underscored the lack of a Canadian mapping API, leaving a significant portion of online activity reliant on American companies. Ontario’s Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, Stephen Crawford, acknowledged the issue and affirmed that the provincial government was actively reviewing websites to ensure the correct identification of Lake Ontario.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized the name change, asserting that Lake Ontario’s historical name would endure. Trump’s attempt to rename the lake spurred a public exchange between the two leaders, with Ford emphasizing the importance of standing up against unwarranted attacks on the country.
The executive order issued by Trump to rename Lake Ontario mirrored a previous order that renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Levy drew parallels between the confusion during both changes, highlighting the complexities involved in implementing such modifications across various platforms.
