Photo via Global News

Some Ontario government, business websites show ‘Lake America’ on maps

Read the original at Global News ↗
Cite

Previl, S. (2026, August 31). Some Ontario government, business websites show ‘Lake America’ on maps. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12041171/google-maps-lake-america-ontario-government-websites/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Global News · collected 2026-08-31 · by Sean Previl

Quick Summary

Ontario's Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Stephen Crawford announced that some government agency websites incorrectly displayed "Lake America" instead of "Lake Ontario", after people noticed the error on social media. The issue is due to recent changes made by Google Maps, which pulls map data directly from its own service and reflects name changes from official sources such as the US Geographic Names Information Service. Some websites affected include Hydro One, Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario, the LCBO, and Loblaws' store locator. A spokesperson for Hydro One apologized for the error and stated that it will be corrected "as quickly as possible".
Written by AI on 2026-08-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On August 25, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario, a body of water shared by the U.S. and Canada, as "Lake America." This threat came amidst an ongoing trade dispute between the two nations, with Trump posting on social media that such a change would signal reduced business ties with Ontario. While Indigenous peoples originally named Lake Ontario centuries ago, experts argue that Trump's move is purely symbolic since he lacks authority to compel Canada to adopt this new name. Canadian officials responded by announcing retaliatory tariffs starting September 8, affecting approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. products including steel and processed cheese.

Written for “Trump Renames Lake Ontario” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 31 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Renames Lake Ontario
Politics · 32 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
404 Media
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 95/100
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 6 of 41 claims Outlet record 52/100
National Post
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
TIME
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article B refers to a review of government and business websites displaying 'Lake America', while Article A announces Google's change to its maps, suggesting they cover related but not identical events”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 7 of 146 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes a statement and executive order made by Trump to rename Lake Ontario, while Article B reports on a later response from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and an update on websites showing 'Lake America'”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A describes Trump renaming a map of Lake Ontario, while Article B discusses government and business websites displaying 'Lake America' due to mapping data from Google”
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A reports a US executive order renaming Lake Ontario, while Article B reports websites showing 'Lake America' due to map data from Google Maps”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A mentions an executive order to rename Lake Ontario, while Article B describes a review of government websites that temporarily displayed 'Lake America' due to map data from Google”
National Post
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A reports on Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario, while Article B describes a situation where some Ontario government and business websites temporarily display 'Lake America' due to using outdated Google Maps data.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
32
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-31 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 2635 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Sean Previl
58 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 McClure said in a letter, shared by the Opposition NDP, that either option would give the elections body sufficient time to hold the vote with integrity and safeguards in place.
🔮 “Maybe they want menu items that we don’t serve,” said Ashley.
🔮 He went on to cite data from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who projected $733 billion in additional debt in the next five years.
🔮 Prime Minister Mark Carney says the U.S. and Canada will be working in the coming weeks to deliver a “mutually beneficial” trade deal after a conversation with President Donald Trump.
🔮 Anyone who may have been travelling in the area early Saturday, or who has surveillance or dashcam footage, is asked to contact OPP.
🔮 The votes will take place Dec. 7 to fill six vacancies caused by the departures of MPs from multiple parties in recent months.
🔮 Asked by reporters Wednesday why he was willing to entertain a deal before the midterms — and whether Canada was being set up to be the “fall guys” by the U.S. administration if it loses — Carney said they’re after the right deal.
🔮 Election night in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) delivered some upsets, with several incumbent mayors losing their bids for re-election.
🔮 On Sunday, his party was projected to win 64 seats, a total no party has surpassed since the BC Liberals won 77 seats in 2001.
🔮 A new Canadian approach to treating a common heart rhythm condition could change the game for patients who deal with atrial fibrillation or AFib.
Also by Sean Previl
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 58 articles by Sean Previl →

Topics

Google Google Maps Hydro One LCBO U.S.

Subjects

U.S. GPE · 5× Canada GPE · 3× Google ORG · 3× Google Maps ORG · 3× Hydro One ORG · 3× LCBO ORG · 3× GNIS ORG · 2× Global News ORG · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Ontario GPE · 1×

Narrative

Get breaking National news 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).
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-31
🔮 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.

Claims (20 extracted, 1 hedged)

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. asserted
websites → unveil → 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. asserted
some → say → 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. asserted
Crawford → follow → name
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.” asserted
maps → come → 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. asserted
talks → come → Ford
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. uncertain
U.S. → say → security
Get breaking National news 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). asserted
which → get → Service
The GNIS formally changed Lake Ontario to “Lake America” in recent days. asserted
GNIS → change → 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. asserted
those → say → 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. asserted
Ontario → live → 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.” asserted
that → notice → America
Global News has confirmed these maps show the name, as does the store locator for Loblaws. asserted
locator → confirm → Loblaws
In a statement, Hydro One said it is aware of Lake Ontario being “incorrectly labeled on our outage map.” asserted
Ontario → say → map
“The issue originates from a third-party mapping service. asserted
issue → originate → service
We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference. asserted
We → work → reference
We regret the error and apologize for any confusion it has caused,” a spokesperson for Hydro One said in an email. asserted
spokesperson → regret → email
Global News has also contacted the LCBO for comment. asserted
News → contact → comment
Google Maps is listed as the copyright holder and data provider for each map on these websites. asserted
Maps → list → 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. asserted
Trump → ’ → presidency
It was renamed the Gulf of America, with Google, Apple and Microsoft also renaming it on their maps. asserted
Google → rename → maps
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support