When MapQuest’s general manager woke up in Toronto on Thursday morning, the Texan visiting for a conference knew he couldn’t leave without visiting one place.
asserted
he → wake → place
Doug Berger made a beeline south from his hotel, wandering past the dock where the ill-fated Captain John’s restaurant used to moor and heading deeper toward the city’s shoreline.
asserted
restaurant → make → shoreline
The vast body of water he arrived at — Lake Ontario — was an essential stop for Berger because it made his company the talk of the tech world and beyond last month.
asserted
company → arrive → world
Unlike many of its rivals, MapQuest had rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s name change to Lake America.
asserted
MapQuest → reject → America
“It’s what gave MapQuest this moment,” Berger said of the lake as he walked toward the waterfront for a second time Thursday.
asserted
he → ’ → time
“I just wanted to get over there and mark the moment.”
asserted
I → want → moment
That moment began in the dying days of August, when the MapQuest team started monitoring Trump after he said he was “giving serious consideration” to swapping the lake’s name.
asserted
he → begin → name
Last January, Trump ditched the Gulf of Mexico moniker in favour of Gulf of America.
asserted
Trump → ditch → America
MapQuest stuck with the original name because it wanted to give users familiarity and its navigation products “integrity,” Berger said.
asserted
Berger → stick → familiarity
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’s Lake Ontario edict felt different, he reasoned.
asserted
he → make → edict
When the team discussed how to handle a change, if one ever came to fruition, they made the “pretty easy decision” to ignore it.
asserted
they → discuss → it
“It’s one of the Great Lakes.
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It → ’ → Lakes
There are acronyms like HOMES, and this is the ‘O,’” Berger explained, almost exasperated.
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Berger → be → HOMES
“Because of the location and because Canada’s our friendly neighbour to the north … renaming it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to us and we saw it as another moment for MapQuest to kind of take a stand.”
asserted
MapQuest → ’ → stand
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, “we’re not changing it.”
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we → sign → it
Meanwhile, Google and Apple adopted “Lake America” for users in the United States while retaining Lake Ontario for those in Canada.
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Google → adopt → Canada
Berger said he knew MapQuest was going to be the outlier, using Lake Ontario everywhere in the world.
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MapQuest → say → world
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.
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Berger → say → pressure
MapQuest’s decision paid off.
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decision → pay → ?
Three million new users, including many Canadians, have downloaded the app since the executive order.
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users → include → order
Many told Berger they respected that the company kept the Lake Ontario name.
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company → tell → name
Their support became like “lightning in a bottle” for the MapQuest team, who soon started selling “We’re not changing it” mugs, sweaters and T-shirts.
asserted
We → become → mugs
But the team was also anxious not to let this moment pass.
asserted
moment → let → ?
Thirty years ago, MapQuest was spun out of R.R. Donnelley & Sons, a commercial printing business dating back to the 19th century.
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MapQuest → spin → century
It is now owned by System1, a California-based advertising company.
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It → own → System1
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’s lustre.
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evolution → diminish → lustre
Some young people had never heard of the app when the Lake Ontario moment happened, but if you are over 30, Berger said, there’s a good chance you remember being in the family car “being yelled at to turn right in 0.1 miles and you still have the printouts.”
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you → hear → printouts
MapQuest still delivers directions to users but now there’s no need for a printout.
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MapQuest → deliver → printout
Customers can generate the company’s maps on a phone or its app.
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Customers → generate → phone
And thanks to all those new users, the maps are getting even better than before, Berger said.
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Berger → get → users
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’s dashboard.
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that → encourage → dashboard
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.
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staff → revel → discussions
“Isn’t it fun we are talking about geography?” he said.
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he → talk → geography
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
The Aporia
