Google removing 'state' designation from Canadian government buildings. No word from Microsoft

Google says it is in the process of removing the "state" designation from Canadian government buildings, as well as provincial parks, following widespread backlash.

On Monday, the company said it would be updating its categorization of provincial parks after receiving hundreds of complaints over the weekend from Canadians upset about the designation.

Although the locations were titled "provincial park" in large text, in small print, many across the country were labelled as "state parks" — a longstanding practice, according to the company.

However, that language came under increased scrutiny in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threat that he wants to annex Canada against the wishes of Canada's political leaders and widespread public opinion.

WATCH | Google Maps listings of Canadian 'state' parks predates Trump taunts: 

Google says it's updating Canadian parks listed as state parks in its search and maps

4 days ago

Duration 2:02

Weekend social media was abuzz with Canadians wondering if Trump's talk of a 51st state was to blame after many provincial parks were discovered categorized as state parks on Google Maps. But as Liam Britten explains, the issue predates Trump's return to power.

While the primary focus was on parks, a few observers noticed that some government buildings, including in B.C. and Nunavut, were also labelled as a state government office.

Google moving fast. Bing, not so much

A spokesperson for Google confirmed that these locations are being reviewed and updated as well.

In fact, the categorization of buildings reviewed by CBC News had already been updated to "government office" within hours of receiving the response.

Likewise, the majority of parks reviewed by CBC News that had previously been labelled as state parks have since been updated to be simply parks, while others already have the provincial park designation.

Similar changes have not yet been made for parks in other countries such as Argentina and Russia where the state park categorization had been applied.

Nor has any update been applied to Bing Maps, the service run by Microsoft, which also lists multiple Canadian provincial parks as state parks, or on the travel website TripAdvisor.

Neither company has responded to inquiries from CBC News about whether they would be following Google's lead in updating the classification.

Apple already uses the provincial park categorization in its mapping services.

Stefan Dollinger, an English professor at UBC, said at a time of increased nationalism, Canadians are taking a closer look at the U.S.-centric nature of many widely used technology products.

"An American programmer assumes it's the same here, so why take the extra step to relabel that category," he said.

WATCH | Ukrainians in Canada say Trump's rhetoric echoes Putin: 

Ukrainians in N.L. say Trump’s ‘51st state’ threat sounds frighteningly familiar

2 days ago

Duration 2:06

It used to be a joke in Ukraine, too. Katarina Gavrilyuk says the idea that Russia would invade her country wasn’t taken seriously — until it happened. Now, on the third anniversary of the war, she and other Ukrainians living in St. John’s say President Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state feels all too familiar.

That sentiment was also shared by technology analyst Carmi Levy, who told CBC News that he felt many people had been using apps like Google Maps on "autopilot," without necessarily paying attention to the details like the language being used in small print.

"Now I think we realize that yeah, the name of a place really does have political implications whether we like it or not, and we owe it to ourselves to lean in a little bit," he said.

"It's kind of long overdue. Google Maps has been around for over 20 years, but I'm pretty sure this the first time many of us have given this much of a thought."

"It might seem like a bit of a tempest in a teacup, but it's probably a good thing in the long run."