Google Maps has introduced “Lake America” labels, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to urge Apple to follow suit by preinstalling the navigation app on every iPhone. This move has shed light on the dominance of American tech giants in Canada, leaving consumers and businesses with limited non-American alternatives.
According to Anne Pasek, a Canada Research Chair at Trent University, Canadians are heavily reliant on U.S. tech monopolies, subjecting their digital lives and related activities to American jurisdiction and laws.
Recently, several Canadian websites, including federal government portals and major banks, displayed maps renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America. This adjustment came in response to Trump’s executive order amid escalating trade tensions between the two countries.
Google implemented the change for U.S. users and provided an option for non-American sites to show “Lake Ontario” by customizing their maps for the Canadian region. The company stated that this update aligns with its policy for bodies of water with differing names across countries.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revealed that Trump had contacted Apple to request the name change to Lake America on its platforms. Apple has not issued any comments on this matter.
The reliance on mapping services from American tech giants extends beyond navigation, as they play a crucial role in the operations of numerous Canadian businesses by providing essential information like operating hours, contact details, and reviews. These platforms also facilitate functions such as address auto-completion for e-commerce sites and traffic monitoring for rideshare and food delivery apps.
Emily Osborne from the Canadian Shield Institute highlighted the dependence on American companies like Google and Apple for digital services, suggesting Dutch firms TomTom and HERE Technologies as potential alternatives. The acquisition of Toronto-based Avenza Systems by Blue Marble Geographics raises concerns about Canada’s vulnerability to tech-related pressures from the U.S., particularly in areas like payment processing and cloud storage.
Osborne emphasized the importance of diversifying digital infrastructure to reduce risks for Canadian businesses, citing past incidents like the AWS outage that affected many Canadian companies. She underscored the need for local alternatives in critical areas like payment processing to enhance resilience against potential disruptions.