Mazda Canada Works to Fix Lake Ontario Label on Dealer Map

• Mazda Canada wants Google Maps Canada to correct Lake Ontario’s label on its website.

• Google Maps displays “Lake America” for U.S. users following Trump’s executive order.

• MapQuest gained substantial downloads after choosing to retain the Lake Ontario name.

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Following a post on social media yesterday, Mazda Canada looks to be actively trying to correct how Lake Ontario appears on its online retailer map after the automaker became one of several Canadian organizations affected by changes to digital mapping data.

The company acknowledged the problem in a social-media post, saying it was aware of an issue involving the lake’s label on its Find a Retailer map. Mazda Canada said it was working with its mapping service provider to resolve the problem.

The mapping disruption follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order directing the U.S. government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The order requires the U.S. Department of the Interior to reflect the new designation in federal geographic records.

The change does not alter the lake’s official name in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have rejected the U.S. designation, maintaining that the Great Lake will continue to be known as Lake Ontario in Canada.

Google subsequently updated Google Maps to display “Lake America” to users in the United States. Canadian users are supposed to continue seeing “Lake Ontario,” while users outside Canada and the U.S. may see both names.

The consequences have extended beyond Google’s own consumer mapping service. Some Ontario websites using third-party mapping technology have displayed the U.S. name, including sites operated by Hydro One, the LCBO and GO Transit. Based on circulating images posted online, some federal sites are displaying the made-up name; however, they seem to originate from users south of the border.

One mapping company is taking a different approach. MapQuest said it would retain “Lake Ontario,” and the decision has produced a sharp increase in interest. Its app reached No. 1 among U.S. navigation apps and received hundreds of thousands of new downloads, while usage climbed to roughly 50 times normal levels.

As of Sept. 1, MapQuest had also reached the top of the free-app rankings in both the U.S. and Canadian Apple App Stores, an unexpected resurgence for the 30-year-old mapping service. Good for you, MapQuest!

Who else remembers printing dozens of directions pages from MapQuest before heading out on a long drive?