maplewashes

Verb

maplewash (third-person singular simple present maplewashes, present participle maplewashing, simple past and past participle maplewashed)

1. (Canada, derogatory) the misleading use of Canadian symbols, claims, or associations to exaggerate the Canadian origin, ownership, content, or character of a product, business, or service.
   • Following a national poll, Canada’s 2025 word of the year is “maplewash,” defined as the deceptive practice of making things appear more Canadian than they actually are.2025 December 17, Maegen Kulchar, “Queen's University helps to determine Canada's first official word of the year”, in Global The Kingston Whig Standard
2. the idealized or selective portrayal of Canada, its institutions, or its history, especially one that obscures wrongdoing or social problems and presents Canada as morally superior to other countries.
   • That's why we should be careful not to maplewash history when retelling it.2016, “maplewashing”, in Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles