Canadians have been left outraged by a telling clue that the United States is edging closer toward making its northern neighbor the 51st state.
Amid repeated warnings from President Trump that he’s interested in acquiring Canada as a state of America, Canadians noticed some provincial parks have recently been mislabeled as ‘state’ parks on Google maps.
Speaking to CTV news, resident Rachel Deren said: ‘I would like to draw attention to this disgusting display of American oppression of Canadian culture and autonomy.
‘This alarming revelation has stirred many who have noticed, as it is an attack on our Canadian identity.’
Mount Robson Park, Whaleboat Island Marine Provincial Park and Pinecone Burke Provincial Park are among a handful of parks in Canada that go by ‘state park’ on Google maps.
This is despite being almost exclusively referred to as ‘provincial’ parks within Canada, while ‘state’ parks are considered an Americanized term.
‘We are proud to be Canadian and will remain so despite attempts like this from our ever increasingly hostile neighbours to the south,’ Deren said.
On Reddit, dozens of users have noted the same concerning trend and have set about reporting them as ‘errors’ to the tech giant.
‘It is a big issue,’ one user explained.
, Canadians noticed some provincial parks have recently been mislabeled as ‘state’ parks on Google maps
Short Hills Provincial Park is among a list of Canada’s gorgeous parks mislabeled as a ‘state park’ on Google
‘Our country is under constant threat from the American administration. His tech minions undermining our sovereignty in small ways is absolutely a big issue. All these things add up. We need to fight back.’
‘It’s google, who just updated Gulf of America.’
But others pointed out this does not seem to be a new change, adding they’ve noticed the glitch existed well before Trump began discussions about acquiring Canada.
‘Nothing new, just people are noticing stuff like this more because of current events,’ one said.
And Google has issued a statement with a similar point, insisting that no recent changes have been made to these labels.
‘The vast majority of these parks have had their existing labels for several years,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We’re actively working to update labels for parks in Canada to avoid confusion.’
Critics said the reassurance does not go far enough and have called on Google to act faster to implement culturally appropriate changes.
Google has issued a statement with a similar point, insisting that no recent changes have been made to these labels
Tamara Davidson, British Columbia’s minister of Environment and Parks, said constituents had raised the issue with her and she has requested Google update to clarify that these are ‘provincial parks’
‘If you can call it the Gulf of America you can label our parks as Provincial parks,’ one said.
Another claimed their Google maps has also recently ‘switched from meters and km to miles and feet when giving driving instructions.’
That same Reddit user insisted Google weather has also ‘switched from Celsius to Fahrenheit’ in yet another example of Americanized language.
‘Both on my phone and my partners phone, I woke up and it was just like that one day a couple of weeks ago.’
Sensitivities are at an all time high amid Trump’s repeated trolling of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his desire to make Canada a state, insisting it is also the will of the Canadian public and referring to him as a ‘governor.’
Tamara Davidson, British Columbia’s minister of Environment and Parks, said constituents had raised the issue with her and she has requested Google update to clarify that these are ‘provincial parks.’
‘We understand the concerns this has raised in the context of recent events – and let’s be clear, we will never be the 51st state,’ she said.
Canada is a country of roughly forty million people broken down into ten provinces and three territories.
Sensitivities are at an all time high amid Trump’s repeated trolling of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his desire to make Canada a state
Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could annex Canada as a 51st state
Justin Trudeau was roundly mocked after he celebrated Canada’s overtime victory against the United States with a brutal swipe at Donald Trump
If it were to become one massive state as Trump has been calling for, it would become the most populous state alongside California.
Trudeau has repeatedly hit back at the suggestion and maintains it will ‘never happen.’
‘Canadians define themselves a whole bunch of different ways, but one of the ways that we all use as shorthand is ‘we’re Canadian because we’re not American,” Trudeau said during a visit to Washington, DC.
‘That is not going to change.’
Trump’s plan has divided the neighboring nations, as seen during a recent hockey match between the United States and Canada.
Canadian fans booed the American national anthem in Montreal during the tournament and American fans returned the favor during ‘O Canada’ at the 4 Nations Face-Off final in Boston, which itself was altered by a Canadian singer as a form of protest against Trump.
After Connor McDavid scored the game-winning overtime goal, Trudeau issued a defiant message to Trump and the United States: ‘You can’t take our country and you can’t take our game’ in English and in Quebecois French.
While some congratulated Trudeau on Canada’s victory, many slammed the prime minister for his response.
‘You won a hockey game. You lost your country.’