Several Canadian websites, including those operated by government-related services, briefly labeled Lake Ontario as “Lake America” on Sunday, even though Google had said its adoption of President Donald Trump’s new name for the lake would be limited to users in the United States, according to CBC News.
The unexpected appearance of the name on Canadian sites came one day after Google Maps said it had changed its designation of the lake in response to an executive order signed by Trump. Google said it acted after the US government’s official geographic names database was updated to reflect the new name.
Despite Google’s assertion that the change would be restricted to US users, maps used by a number of Canadian organizations subsequently began identifying the body of water as “Lake America.” CBC News reported that the affected sites included Hydro One’s power outage map, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s store locator, GO Transit’s station finder, and a Canadian federal government map dealing with housing and infrastructure.
Hydro One confirmed that its map was displaying the wrong name and attributed the problem to a third-party mapping provider.
“We are aware that Lake Ontario is being incorrectly labeled on our outage map,” a spokesperson told CBC News in an email, adding that Hydro One regrets the “error.”
The utility said it was working to have the designation corrected.
“The issue originates from a third-party mapping service,” the utility said. “We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference.”
Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency that oversees GO Transit, similarly acknowledged the problem and said it was reviewing its online services to ensure the traditional Canadian name remained in place.
“We are actively reviewing our websites to make sure they all identify Lake Ontario by its correct name: Lake Ontario,” Metrolinx said.
The agency said it was also moving to shut down the particular mapping feature where the new name had appeared.
“We are in the process of disabling the map function on the GO stations’ page where this occurred.”
MapQuest, meanwhile, announced on social media that it does not intend to use Trump’s chosen name for the lake. Apple has yet to publicly indicate whether it plans to make any changes to its own mapping services.
Trump announced Thursday that Lake Ontario would be known as “Lake America” in the United States, making the move as relations between Washington and Ottawa have become increasingly strained over trade.
Sitting at the Resolute Desk, Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake’s name within the US geographic naming system. Although the order gives the department 30 days to implement the change, Trump declared that the new designation was “official, effective immediately.”
Trump said he had “notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we’ve done everything that you have to do.”
The fight over the lake’s name is unfolding against the backdrop of an escalating trade battle between the United States and Canada, with both governments imposing tariffs on goods from the other country. Washington announced 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian products following the collapse of trade negotiations, while Ottawa retaliated with tariffs covering $20 billion in American goods, including dairy products, steel, appliances and agricultural equipment.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Trump’s effort to rename the lake, pointing to the centuries-old origins of the Lake Ontario name.
“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big”.”
Carney noted that the name existed long before either modern Canada or the United States came into being.
“The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,” added Carney.
The Canadian prime minister concluded by portraying the dispute as part of broader changes taking place in the United States while insisting that Canadians would continue referring to the lake by its longstanding name.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” concluded the Prime Minister.
{Matzav.com}
