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Just 24 hours after Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a sign proclaiming Lake Ontario is “now and forever,” the province launched a review after some agency websites displayed “Lake America” in their mapping applications.
Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery and procurement, said on X that some of the websites pull map data directly from Google Maps.
“Following recent changes by Google, we’re actively reviewing our websites to make sure they all identify Lake Ontario by its correct name: Lake Ontario,” Crawford wrote.
The post came after people on social media noticed that maps on sites including Hydro One, Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario and the LCBO all displayed “Lake America.”
The new name came after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order late this week amid the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S., as well as harsh words by Ford after trade talks fell apart last weekend.
Trump’s executive order says the U.S. lays claim to most of the “volume” of Lake Ontario and is mostly responsible for its security, economic activity and environmental stewardship.
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This weekend, Google Maps said in a post on its website that it updates its maps to reflect name changes from official government sources, which includes the U.S. Geographic Names Information Service (GNIS). The GNIS formally changed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” in recent days.
As a result, Google said people using Maps in the U.S. will now see “Lake America,” while those in Canada will see Lake Ontario. Those living or visiting countries outside Canada and the U.S. will see a combination, with Lake Ontario listed but Lake America in parentheses.
But some people on social media noticed when searching the LCBO’s store locator, Hydro One’s outage map and Infrastructure Ontario’s list of properties that each displayed “Lake America.” Global News has confirmed these maps show the name, as does the store locator for Loblaws.
In a statement, Hydro One said it is aware of Lake Ontario being “incorrectly labeled on our outage map.”
“The issue originates from a third-party mapping service. We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion it has caused,” a spokesperson for Hydro One said in an email.
Global News has also contacted the LCBO for comment.
Google Maps is listed as the copyright holder and data provider for each map on these websites.
It’s not the first time Trump has changed the name of a location, doing so with the Gulf of Mexico early in his presidency. It was renamed the Gulf of America, with Google, Apple and Microsoft also renaming it on their maps.
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