If you use Google Maps on your website, you may have noticed a recent and unexpected change to the name of Lake Ontario.
Google Maps is now displaying “Lake America” to users in the United States, while continuing to display “Lake Ontario” to users in Canada. Users in other countries may see both names.
This is a deliberate change by Google, rather than an error in your map, your store locator data, or your website. For Canadian businesses, however, this can create a problem: if your website is intended primarily for Canadian customers, you may want your map to consistently use the Canadian name, Lake Ontario, regardless of where an individual visitor happens to be browsing from. The good news is that there is a straightforward solution for Google Maps.
Why has Google Maps changed the name?
On August 29, 2026, Google announced that it was updating Google Maps following a formal change by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
Google's current behaviour is:
This means the result can depend on the region in which the map is being viewed, rather than simply the location of the lake. For example, a Canadian company could have a website visitor in the United States who sees Lake America, while a visitor in Canada sees Lake Ontario. Google has also confirmed that users outside the US and Canada may see both names. This is particularly relevant for businesses whose websites are visited by customers from multiple countries. A visitor's IP address, browser location, VPN, or other regional signals can result in a different Google Maps presentation.
The Google Maps fix: set the region to Canada
Google provides a region parameter specifically for this type of regional localisation.
The Google Maps JavaScript API documentation states that the region parameter can change the map's behaviour based on a particular country or region, including the map tiles used and the bias applied to services such as geocoding and Places. Google also recommends setting a region for Maps JavaScript API applications where appropriate. For a website primarily serving Canadian customers, add:
region=CA
to the Google Maps JavaScript API URL.
Before
A typical Store Locator Widgets Google Maps installation currently looks like this:
<script type="text/javascript"id="googlemapsscript"src="//maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY&libraries=places&loading=async&callback=storeLocatorGoogleMapsCallback">
script>
After
Simply add ®ion=CA to the Google Maps API URL:
<script type="text/javascript"id="googlemapsscript"src="//maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY&libraries=places&loading=async®ion=CA&callback=storeLocatorGoogleMapsCallback">
script>
That's the only change required. You do not need to change your Store Locator Widgets locations or any of your store data.
Why use CA rather than relying on the visitor's location?
Without an explicit region, Google can use the user's browser and regional context when localising the map.
That can produce an unwanted result for a business whose target market is different from the visitor's physical location. For example:
Canadian company → customer temporarily visiting the US → Google Maps displays “Lake America”
Setting region=CA tells Google that the application should be localised for Canada.
This is particularly useful if your website is Canadian-focused but receives international traffic.
What if your website serves multiple countries?
You don't necessarily want to hard-code region=CA on a genuinely global website.
If the same store locator is used by separate Canadian, US, UK and other country-specific websites, the better approach is to configure the appropriate region for each installation.
Examples:
Canada → region=CA
United States → region=US
United Kingdom → region=GB
Australia → region=AU
Google's region parameter uses two-character Unicode/CLDR region identifiers, with some country codes differing from their familiar internet domains. For example, the region code for the United Kingdom is GB, rather than UK. The region setting can also affect services such as Places and geocoding, so it is more than simply a cosmetic map-label setting.
What about Mapbox?
We have also tested this with Mapbox and the result is different. Based on our testing, Mapbox continues to display Lake Ontario, including when accessed from the United States. There is therefore currently no change required to Store Locator Widgets installations using Mapbox. We'll continue to monitor Mapbox's map data and localisation behaviour as this situation develops.
What about ExpressMaps?
ExpressMaps uses its own mapping data and rendering system rather than Google's geographic naming system.
At present we have been advised that ExpressMaps is not planning to implement the “Lake America” naming change. This means ExpressMaps customers do not currently need to make any changes to their Store Locator Widgets installation. We will continue to monitor the situation and will update our customers here if ExpressMaps' position changes or if the naming is introduced into its map data in the future.