In a recent development, Google Maps has incorporated the label “Lake America,” a move that has prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to urge Apple to follow suit by preinstalling the updated navigation app on every iPhone. This situation underscores a prevalent issue facing many Canadian consumers and businesses, who find themselves heavily reliant on U.S.-owned platforms with limited non-American alternatives.
According to Anne Pasek, a Canada Research Chair in Media, Culture, and the Environment at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., Canadians often operate under the influence of American tech monopolies. She emphasized that much of Canadians’ digital and associated lives fall under the purview of American companies and laws, a reality that becomes apparent during contentious moments like this.
Several Canadian websites, including federal government portals and major banks, have recently displayed maps showing Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” This adjustment aligns with an executive order issued by President Trump as part of the ongoing trade disputes between the two nations.
Google implemented the change for U.S. users and provided non-American websites with an option to revert to the original name, “Lake Ontario,” by localizing their maps and setting the region to Canada. The company stated that these updates are consistent with their policy for bodies of water with varying names across countries.
Although Trump has reportedly reached out to Apple to request the modification in their apps, Apple has not responded to inquiries from CBC News. The mapping tools from prominent U.S. tech companies not only offer navigation services to millions but also play a crucial role in the operations of numerous Canadian businesses, providing essential information such as contact details, reviews, and operational hours. These tools also facilitate functions like address autocompletion on e-commerce sites and enable rideshare and food delivery apps to monitor traffic conditions.
Commenting on the situation, policy research associate Emily Osborne from the Canadian Shield Institute highlighted Canada’s heavy reliance on American tech giants like Google and Apple for digital services, including navigation. She suggested Dutch companies TomTom and HERE Technologies as potential alternatives for basic navigation services.
In light of recent developments, concerns have been raised about potential tech-related pressure points that the Trump administration might exploit against Canada, such as payment processing and cloud storage. Osborne referenced the impact of the AWS outage last fall, which significantly affected numerous Canadian businesses due to their dependence on U.S.-owned digital infrastructure. She emphasized the vulnerability of Canadian businesses when relying on American services like Visa and MasterCard without a local alternative.
