{"id":909101,"date":"2026-09-25T12:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909101\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T12:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:28:13","slug":"mapquest-gm-on-rejecting-donald-trumps-lake-ontario-name-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909101\/","title":{"rendered":"MapQuest GM on rejecting Donald Trump’s Lake Ontario name change"},"content":{"rendered":"

MapQuest has seen a surge in downloads after refusing to rename Lake Ontario after Google and Apple did. <\/p>\n

TORONTO \u2014 When MapQuest\u2019s general manager woke up in Toronto on Thursday morning, the Texan visiting for a conference knew he couldn\u2019t leave without visiting one place.<\/p>\n

Doug Berger made a beeline south from his hotel, wandering past the dock where the ill-fated Captain John\u2019s restaurant used to moor and heading deeper toward the city\u2019s shoreline. <\/p>\n

The vast body of water he arrived at \u2014 Lake Ontario \u2014 was an essential stop for Berger because it made his company the talk of the tech world and beyond last month. Unlike many of its rivals, MapQuest had rejected U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s name change to Lake America. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what gave MapQuest this moment,\u201d Berger said of the lake as he walked toward the waterfront for a second time Thursday. \u201cI just wanted to get over there and mark the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

That moment began in the dying days of August, when the MapQuest team started monitoring Trump after he said he was \u201cgiving serious consideration\u201d to swapping the lake\u2019s name. <\/p>\n

MapQuest had been through this before. Last January, Trump ditched the Gulf of Mexico moniker in favour of Gulf of America. MapQuest stuck with the original name because it wanted to give users familiarity and its navigation products \u201cintegrity,\u201d Berger said. <\/p>\n

MapQuest makes name changes all the time as roads get built, buildings are demolished and new tracts of land are settled, but the political nature of Trump\u2019s Lake Ontario edict felt different, he reasoned.<\/p>\n

When the team discussed how to handle a change, if one ever came to fruition, they made the \u201cpretty easy decision\u201d to ignore it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the Great Lakes. There are acronyms like HOMES, and this is the \u2018O,\u2019\u201d Berger explained, almost exasperated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the location and because Canada\u2019s our friendly neighbour to the north \u2026 renaming it didn\u2019t make a whole lot of sense to us and we saw it as another moment for MapQuest to kind of take a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, when Trump signed his executive order christening the body of water Lake America, it took the company mere minutes to post a map of Lake Ontario with the caption, \u201cwe\u2019re not changing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"MapQuest General Manager Doug Berger sits on a dock on the shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn MapQuest General Manager Doug Berger sits on a dock on the shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Google and Apple adopted \u201cLake America\u201d for users in the United States while retaining Lake Ontario for those in Canada.<\/p>\n

Berger said he knew MapQuest was going to be the outlier, using Lake Ontario everywhere in the world. <\/p>\n

With roughly 50 staff, he said his company has a nimbler team and more independence in general than the tech giants, which Berger estimates have thousands of staff working on mapping alone and under more pressure.<\/p>\n

MapQuest\u2019s decision paid off.<\/p>\n

Three million new users, including many Canadians, have downloaded the app since the executive order. Many told Berger they respected that the company kept the Lake Ontario name.<\/p>\n

Their support became like \u201clightning in a bottle\u201d for the MapQuest team, who soon started selling \u201cWe\u2019re not changing it\u201d mugs, sweaters and T-shirts. <\/p>\n

But the team was also anxious not to let this moment pass.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mapquest prints out directions to Lake Ontario MapQuest GM, Doug Berger, giving Questies printed directions to Lake Ontario from Chicago, Sept. 10, 2026. (MapQuest X) <\/p>\n

Thirty years ago, MapQuest was spun out of R.R. Donnelley & Sons, a commercial printing business dating back to the 19th century. It is now owned by System1, a California-based advertising company. <\/p>\n

While decades ago, MapQuest was a dominant name in the world of navigation services, the evolution of smartphones and GPS products for cars, as well as the rise of rivals, has diminished much of the business\u2019s lustre.<\/p>\n

Some young people had never heard of the app when the Lake Ontario moment happened, but if you are over 30, Berger said, there\u2019s a good chance you remember being in the family car \u201cbeing yelled at to turn right in 0.1 miles and you still have the printouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

MapQuest still delivers directions to users but now there\u2019s no need for a printout. Customers can generate the company\u2019s maps on a phone or its app. <\/p>\n

And thanks to all those new users, the maps are getting even better than before, Berger said.<\/p>\n

Very recent feedback from consumers, particularly those in Toronto, encouraged the company to add local transit options to its maps and offer support for Android Auto, a mobile app that mirrors a car\u2019s dashboard.<\/p>\n

While MapQuest is revelling in all the feedback and attention the Lake Ontario renaming has brought, Berger thinks one of the best parts has been how interested people are in the discussions MapQuest staff have every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it fun we are talking about geography?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"\"MapQuest sees surge in downloads after refusing to rename Lake Ontario <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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