Why some Canadian website maps show ‘Lake America’ instead of Lake Ontario

Canadian websites displaying "Lake America" on their Google-powered maps have reverted the name to "Lake Ontario," a change the company said can be altered by web developers. The issue first came to light on Sunday when social media users noticed certain sites, including Hydro One, Metrolinx, Elections Canada, Loblaw, and Infrastructure Ontario, showing "Lake America" on their maps when zoomed out to view the Great Lake.

Hydro One's spokesperson confirmed the issue was with a third-party mapping service, Google Maps, which had incorrectly labeled Lake Ontario. The name change occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order claiming U.S. ownership over most of Lake Ontario's volume and responsibility for its security, economic activity, and environmental stewardship.

Google Maps updates its maps to reflect name changes from official government sources, including the U.S. Geographic Names Information Service (GNIS), which recently changed Lake Ontario to "Lake America." Ontario's Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, Stephen Crawford, stated that some government websites pull map data directly from Google Maps and are actively reviewing them to ensure they identify Lake Ontario correctly.

Google told Global News that website developers who embed Google Maps can select a region to localize the map, determining how place names are displayed. Ontario Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Stephen Crawford emphasized that websites can end up with an American label if developers do not change the regional settings, resulting in Canadian websites displaying an American label.