Since maps aren’t reality, but merely imitate reality, they are prone to all the slings and arrows of human error, ambition, greed and folly.
Recently, Donald Trump not only posted a map that showed the U.S. flag covering large parts of Canada, Greenland and Mexico, he renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America.” Apple was the first to tug its forelock, saying “only Americans” would see Lake America; all others would see Lake Ontario.
You can call this craven, bullying and even unhinged. I prefer to call it “high school.” But the real Pinocchio Award for map-making goes to Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594), the Flemish cosmographer and cartographer who created the world map in 1569 based on a new projection that made it more useful to sailors. But any three-dimensional object portrayed in two dimensions is bound to contain some biases and distortions. For example, Mercator’s exaggerates the size of countries near the poles and downplays those near the equator.
We’ve known for some time that Greenland isn’t as big as it’s shown on the map of the world, and that Africa is bigger than it’s shown. But “isn’t as big” doesn’t really describe the size of the distortion, nor does “some time” describe the 500 years that this distortion has gone uncorrected. Indeed, Greenland looks roughly the size of Africa, which is actually 14 times larger.
1,400% ! That’s quite the rounding error, like mistaking a bungalow for an apartment tower, then faithfully teaching the mistake to 100 generations of children.
Then on September 4, the UN General Assembly voted 164 to one to urge governments, schools, and tech companies worldwide to stop using maps that make Africa look much smaller than it really is. The one dissenting vote was the United States, who called it “part of a radical ideological project.” No surprise, the U.S. looks bigger on the Mercator projection than on what’s called the Equal Earth projection. Someone is afraid to tell America’s President that a fair map doesn’t change the geography of the world; it changes how we see the world.
Yet for centuries, the world’s more powerful countries were larger and the least powerful countries smaller. It’s clear that RIC comes into play here: Racism, Imperialism and Colonialism. I say this because the African Union and its 54 member states have been lobbying for this change far too long.
When I went to school, not only was the map of the world the Mercator projection, all of the countries of the British Empire were coloured in pink. To my 8-year-old eyes, Canada by its sheer size was holding the Commonwealth together. Thus are life-long beliefs born and raised.
It’s important to note that the UN resolution is not an edict forcing the world to change its maps. It is a suggestion, a plea to give reality some contact lenses. But surely Canada, who has been the passive beneficiary of Mercator’s distortions, can now be the active advocate for Equal Earth maps. It feels very Carneyesque.
Let’s start at home. The Canadian Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation is the government department responsible for ensuring accuracy of our nation’s maps, along with the Atlas of Canada. But also, starting in 2012, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society produced its first giant floor map of Canada that students and families can walk on. Some versions of it can fill a school gymnasium. Schools can borrow a copy for free from Canadian Geographic Education, and last year they were booked over 500 times.
When people of any age walk on the map, the first place they invariably stand on is where they live now. Then their home town. Then where they’ve travelled in the second largest country on earth.
But why doesn’t some wealthy patriot step up and help the RCGS produce floor maps of Equal Earth, not just of our home and native land, but of its place in the world? Surely, now that we’re planning to slip the surly bonds of America, every child and indeed, every one of the 41 million of us deserves to see (and since it’s a floormap, to walk on) Canada as it is, not as it was to Gerardus Mercator and Donald Trump.
Today, you can download, print and reproduce an Equal Earth wallmap at no cost, and no copyright restrictions. But why not include the old projections beside the new one? Let us see the distortion rather than being told to trust its replacement. And most of all, let’s not claim we’ve produced a map without a point of view. Let’s ask instead if its choices serve the viewer or the Vizier holding the pen.
Meanwhile…
1. This is PEN Canada’s centenary year. And what better way to advocate for writers in peril across the world than taking in the PEN Canada Graeme Gibson Talk on Oct. 27 with Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned for 500 days in Russia; Canadian journalist Carol Off; and British human rights lawyer, Philippe Sands. Tickets here.
2. Come with us through the Northwest Passage. In August 2028, Jean and I are taking friends on a trip to the top of the world and the holiday of a lifetime. 20 days, one expedition ship, two helicopters, expert speakers. Read all about it here — and learn all about it at our information receptions on Oct. 14 and 21. Book by Oct. 31 and save $2,700+ per person.
3. Greenland uber alles. The New York Times summed it up: “Trump Once Vowed to ‘Own’ Greenland. He Settled for Something Much Less.” Here’s the actual agreement which is almost the same as the 1951 agreement. Meanwhile, Timothy Snyder’s been driving through Ukraine and A Meditation on Gas Stations unpacks how everyday errands smack up against total war. Finally, the MIT Technology Review investigated nearly 4,000 migrant-death cases to assess their proximity and visibility to border-surveillance towers (Dying on Camera: the map; how the investigation was done).
4. New Metaphors. Canada needs some to describe its relationship to the U.S. Like “a rock and a hard place.” And new trackers too: The Local’s Toronto election tracker details the background and policies of every candidate for Mayor and City Councillor in the Oct. 26 civic election.
Beggars belief: For the second year running (and the 10th since 2010), Air Canada was voted Best Airline in North America at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards. What’s more, Air Canada’s Signature Suite at Pearson was also named World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining for the third straight year. Finally, an ode to Highway 401 (and all that historical video? It’s AI.)
5. He said, he said. In the Purpose Investments case, OSC lawyer Robin McKechney argues that phrases such as “every single investment,” “across our lineup,” and “across everything we do,” signaled to reasonable investors that ESG applied to all the funds. Purpose CEO Som Seif denied the allegations, distinguishing an “investment process” from “investment funds.” A lot of meaning to squeeze between two nouns.
Meanwhile, do you remember Singer Sewing Machines? The mightiest brand in the business is now a machine that’s “not worth repairing.”
6. A font of information. Turn text into charts with Datatype. Also, the HTML Review publishes writing that uses the web as its medium, welcoming poetry, essays, fiction and experiments involving text, design and code, not just a paper magazine imprisoned in a browser. Oh, and do you know what a contronym is? A word that means its own opposite. And do you know why William Blake never fit in? Or why taxi drivers have unusually low Alzheimer’ s rates?
7. Angela Hewitt, Redux. After running the Trasimeno Festival in Umbria for over 20 years, Canadian superstar pianist Angela Hewitt has moved on, founding the Umbria Festival di Angela Hewitt.
Meanwhile, if you’re asked to take a cognitive assessment, read this first. It’s all part of How to Grow Old. And finally, a new take on masturbation.
8. Like a bunch of animals. Meet the echidna puggle and a new species of gentoo penguins. And a new bird seed squirrels hate. Plus, the World Nomad Games, with horseback wrestling, falcon hunting and kök-börü, played with a goat carcass. Speaking of goat, try this freaky foreign fast food, and try to build a new hotel in Venice.
9. Take twos. First, fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in another documentary about Theranos. Next, Robocop goes to film school: how blocking, camera movement, and staging tell a story. Plus, how to pose like an actor. And finally, the sky puts on a show.
10. What I’m liking. Redwood, Ben Macintyre’s new and true spy-vs.-spy story about a Soviet diplomat in Tehran who defects to the Brits, with vast unintended consequences. Spies defect for money, to escape danger, and for ideology. Vladimir Kuzichkin defected because he was impotent.