Nova Scotia Power has resolved the issue with its outage map, now accurately listing Lake Ontario after previously displaying it as Lake America. This situation mirrors challenges faced by several Canadian platforms in correctly identifying Lake Ontario following a recent directive by U.S. President Donald Trump to rename the lake.
Jacqueline Foster, a senior communications advisor at NS Power, acknowledged the error in labeling Lake Ontario on their outage map, attributing it to a third-party mapping service. Shortly after issuing an initial statement addressing the problem, NS Power confirmed that the issue had been rectified.
The outage map utilized by the utility is powered by Google, which had officially changed the lake’s name to Lake America within the United States to align with government sources. Google clarified that Canadian users would see the original name, while individuals outside Canada and the U.S. would see both names.
Peter Johnson, an associate professor specializing in geography and environmental management at the University of Waterloo, explained that various organizations employ the Google Maps application programming interface (API) to create customized map applications on their websites. This API retrieves data from Google servers, updating names based on map alterations and distributing this data to third-party maps using the API.
For users in Nova Scotia accessing Google Maps directly, they would see the lake’s original name due to browser recognition of their IP address, redirecting them to a Canada-specific map. Johnson emphasized that the transition from small to large features, such as the lake’s name change, was a routine process. To avoid such discrepancies, he recommended exploring alternative map APIs like the one provided by ESRI, a global mapping company known for maintaining accurate information.
Other utility companies like New Brunswick Power and Maritime Electric in P.E.I. utilize ESRI’s API, correctly listing Lake Ontario under its original name.
