MapQuest has found itself back in the national spotlight after publicly refusing to adopt President Donald Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario as "Lake America" on its maps. It's unclear who made the call not to update the map, but the head of the company that owns MapQuest isn't a fan of Trump's. Trump changed the name of Lake Ontario in an executive order last week as part of the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada.
While some companies, including Google Maps, have updated their systems to reflect the name change, MapQuest has made it clear it won't change the name, just as it didn't change the name of the Gulf of Mexico when Trump changed it to the Gulf of America. In a social media message, the company said, "we're not changing it" in regard to the name change. MapQuest quickly got a boost, with downloads jumping more than 300 percent and the app becoming the number one downloaded app in Navigation.
Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, told Newsweek, it was an "easy" decision to make. "People let us know we were making the right decision with their downloads back then, and they are downloading even more with Lake Ontario. Millions of people are realizing they have a choice in which mapping app they use," Berger said.
The dispute over the lake's name has become the latest flashpoint in worsening U.S.-Canada relations following the collapse of trade talks between the two countries and the introduction of new tariffs. While federal agencies are expected to use the new designation, Canada has rejected the change and continues to recognize the body of water as Lake Ontario. Thanks to President Trump’s bold action, its name will now reflect its place in America and her heritage," Allison Schuster, a White House spokeswoman, told Newsweek via email.
MapQuest is owned by System1, a California-based advertising and consumer internet company. The mapping service has had several owners since it emerged as one of the internet's most recognizable brands during the 1990s. The CEO, Michael Blend, has made a number of political donations to Democrats, including to former Vice President Kamala Harris while she was running for president.
It's unclear if Blend had any role in making the decision not to change the name. Blend gave Harris' campaign $2,000 in July 2024, about a week after Harris announced she'd be running for president. He previously donated to Harris' 2020 campaign, giving her $2,000 in 2019 and 2020.
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