Several Canadian websites, including those for the federal government, showcased maps on Sunday with Lake Ontario relabeled as Lake America, following an announcement by Google Maps to comply with a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Google stated in a post on its corporate website on Saturday that the adjustment was made because the U.S. government’s official geographic names database had formally changed the lake’s name.
While Google indicated that the modification would impact only U.S. users, various websites representing entities in Ontario and Canada exhibited Lake America on their maps.
Among these sites were 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.
Responding to the issue, a spokesperson for Hydro One informed CBC News via email that they were aware of the incorrect labeling of Lake Ontario on their outage map and regretted the mistake, attributing it to a third-party mapping service.
Hydro One stated that they were collaborating with their vendor to promptly rectify the issue and restore the accurate geographic reference.
Metrolinx, a government agency in Ontario overseeing GO Transit, acknowledged the matter in an email to CBC News, stating that they were actively reviewing their websites to ensure Lake Ontario was correctly identified by its proper name.
They added that they were in the process of disabling the map function on the GO stations’ page where the issue occurred.
By Sunday evening, the problematic GO Transit map had been disabled, and the LCBO map had been reinstated to display Lake Ontario.
Contrary to Google Maps, MapQuest, a U.S.-based online mapping service, asserted on social media that they would not alter the lake’s name. Apple, on the other hand, has not publicly addressed the issue.
In a statement issued on Sunday night, Google mentioned that website developers embedding Google Maps could choose a region for localization, determining how place names appear on their sites.
The statement explained that when developers set their region to Canada, “Lake Ontario” would be displayed.
APIs and the confusion: insights from a tech expert
Technology analyst and journalist Carmi Levy highlighted that while websites like those of Hydro One and the LCBO are Canadian, their maps likely utilize Google’s application programming interface (API), linking computers and programs.
Since APIs lack location awareness, maps powered by Google API defaulted to labeling the lake as Lake America.
Levy pointed out that companies and government bodies commonly rely on third-party APIs rather than developing their mapping software.
He noted that Google’s suggested solution for website developers to specify Canada as their region on the backend for localized maps is relatively simple. However, he emphasized that until everyone is aware of this option or comfortable making the adjustment, the outcomes will remain varied.
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