Nova Scotia Power has rectified a glitch on its outage map, accurately identifying Lake Ontario after it was erroneously labeled as Lake America. This adjustment comes in the wake of a directive by U.S. President Donald Trump that altered the lake’s name, causing naming challenges for several entities in Canada.

Jacqueline Foster, the senior communications adviser for Nova Scotia Power, acknowledged the issue before the correction, mentioning that multiple organizations in Canada experienced similar challenges due to a third-party mapping service.

The utility’s map, which is powered by Google, reflects the name change of Lake Ontario to Lake America in the United States. This change aligns with updates in official government sources. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum hinted that Apple Maps might also adopt the new name soon.

Although Google Maps users in Canada will see the original name, individuals outside of Canada or the U.S. will notice both names. Peter Johnson, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo, explained that various organizations utilize Google Maps’ application programming interface (API) to customize their maps. This API retrieves data from Google servers and updates names as necessary.

Residents of Nova Scotia accessing Google Maps directly will still see the lake’s original name due to location-based services. Johnson emphasized that the transition from small to large features is a routine process. He recommended exploring alternative map APIs, such as ESRI’s, which correctly identify Lake Ontario.

In conclusion, the issue has been resolved by Nova Scotia Power, aligning the outage map’s labeling with the accurate name for Lake Ontario, bringing clarity to affected organizations in Canada.