MapQuest general manager Doug Berger says the company kept the name Lake Ontario worldwide after an executive order renamed it “Lake America,” and he visited the waterfront in Toronto to mark the decision.
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MapQuest general manager Doug Berger said he made a quick trip to Lake Ontario while visiting Toronto for a conference, describing the waterfront as an essential stop tied to the company’s response to a U.S. executive order that renamed the lake “Lake America.” Berger, who is based in Texas, said he headed south from his hotel Thursday and walked toward the shoreline to mark what he called a moment for MapQuest after it decided to keep “Lake Ontario” rather than adopt the new U.S. naming.
Berger said MapQuest began monitoring President Donald Trump after he indicated he was considering renaming the lake at the end of August. He described the company’s approach as rooted in user familiarity and navigation “integrity,” noting that MapQuest had already made naming changes in the past when roads are built, buildings demolished or new land is settled, but that the political nature of the order felt different to his team.
He said the decision was ultimately straightforward: the lake is one of the Great Lakes and is already associated with established geography, and MapQuest viewed renaming it as not making much sense for Canada, described as a “friendly neighbour” to the north. Berger said the company therefore planned to ignore the change, and within minutes of Trump signing the executive order, MapQuest posted a map of Lake Ontario with a caption stating it was “not changing it.”
Berger said major mapping competitors adopted “Lake America” in the United States but retained “Lake Ontario” for Canadian users. By contrast, he said MapQuest chose to use Lake Ontario everywhere, and he described the company as expecting it to be an outlier. To reinforce the message, MapQuest promoted its “we’re not changing it” branding, including the sale of mugs, sweaters and T-shirts following the executive order.
Berger said the company’s decision quickly drew attention and helped fuel downloads, with MapQuest estimating that three million new users—many of them in Canada—downloaded the app after the naming dispute. He said users told him they respected the company for keeping the Lake Ontario name, and he described the reaction as energizing for the MapQuest team.
He also situated the moment in MapQuest’s broader business history. Berger said the company was spun out of R.R. Donnelley & Sons, a commercial printing business dating back to the 19th century, and that it is now owned by System1, a California-based advertising company. While MapQuest was once a dominant navigation brand, he said the rise of smartphones and GPS reduced the broader prominence of earlier mapping products and intensified competition from rivals.
Even as MapQuest’s role in consumer navigation has changed, Berger said the company still provides directions and mapping through its app, rather than requiring printouts like earlier eras. He said the recent surge in new users has contributed to improved maps, and he pointed to consumer feedback, particularly in Toronto, encouraging MapQuest to add local transit options to its maps.
The MapQuest executive also referenced support for Android Auto, describing it as an example of how the company is adapting to modern in-car display systems. Berger said one of the best aspects of the Lake Ontario decision has been the level of public engagement, framing it as a discussion about geography that MapQuest staff have encountered every day since the order.
Overall, Berger’s visit to Lake Ontario in Toronto tied the company’s naming stance to a physical landmark in Canada, even as the executive order promoted a different name in the United States.
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