TORONTO – When the general manager of Map Quest woke up in Toronto on Thursday morning, the Texan attending a conference knew he had to make one important stop.
Doug Berger headed straight south from his hotel, passing by the dock where the now-closed Captain John’s restaurant used to be and making his way toward the city’s waterfront.
The expansive water he reached – Lake Ontario – was crucial for Berger because it recently put his company in the spotlight across the tech industry and beyond. Unlike many competitors, Map Quest declined U. S. President Donald Trump’s proposed name change to Lake America.
“It’s what gave Map Quest this moment,” Berger said as he approached the waterfront for a second time on Thursday. “I just wanted to get over there and mark the moment.”
This moment started at the end of August when the Map Quest team began keeping an eye on Trump after he mentioned he was “giving serious consideration” to changing the lake’s name.
Map Quest had faced similar situations before. Last January, Trump replaced Gulf of Mexico with Gulf of America. However, Map Quest decided to stick with its original name because it aimed to provide users with familiarity and maintain its navigation products’ “integrity,” according to Berger.
Map Quest frequently updates names as new roads are built or areas develop, but Berger felt that Trump’s political edict regarding Lake Ontario carried a different weight.
When discussing how they would handle any potential changes, they quickly made the “pretty easy decision” to ignore it.
“It’s one of the Great Lakes. There are acronyms like HOMES, and this is the ‘O,’” Berger explained, sounding somewhat frustrated.
“Because of its location and Canada being our friendly neighbor … renaming it didn’t make much sense to us and we saw it as another chance for Map Quest to take a stand.”
Just two days later, when Trump signed an executive order calling it Lake America, Map Quest wasted no time posting a map showing Lake Ontario with a caption saying, “we’re not changing it.”
In contrast, Google and Apple chose “Lake America” for their U. S. users while keeping Lake Ontario for Canadian users.
Berger recognized that Map Quest would be out of step by using Lake Ontario everywhere else in the world.
With around 50 employees, he mentioned that his company operates more nimbly and enjoys greater independence compared to larger tech firms that have thousands focused solely on mapping under significant pressure.
The choice proved beneficial for Map Quest.
Since the executive order, three million new users have downloaded their app, many of whom were Canadians expressing appreciation for retaining the name Lake Ontario.
Their support felt like “lightning in a bottle” for everyone at Map Quest; they soon started selling merchandise like mugs, sweaters, and T-shirts emblazoned with “We’re not changing it.”
However, they also wanted to ensure they didn’t miss out on this opportunity.
Around thirty years ago, Map Quest emerged from R. R. Donnelley & Sons – a printing business established in the 19th century – and is now owned by System1, an advertising firm based in California.
A long time ago,, Map Quest was once synonymous with navigation services but has lost some prominence due to smartphones’ evolution along with GPS systems for cars emerging alongside various competitors over time.
Younger generations may not even know about this app following what happened with Lake Ontario; yet if you’re over 30 years old,” Berger noted that there’s a good chance you remember being in your family’s car hearing someone yell directions while still clutching printed maps.”
Map Quest still provides directions but without needing printouts anymore; customers can generate maps directly from their phones or through their app now instead.
Additionally thanks to all those new users providing feedback constantly improving their maps further than ever before,” Berger stated.
Very recent input from users especially those located in Toronto encouraged them add local transit options onto maps alongwith support Android Auto – which mirrors dashboard information on mobile devices.
While relishing attention drawn towards discussions arising from this renaming incident concerning Lake Ontario , Berger believes one highlight has been people’s engagement surrounding everyday conversations within team members at map quest.
“Isn’t it fun we are talking about geography?” he remarked.
This report by The Canadian Press was first Sept. 25 , 2026.
Tara Deschamps , The Canadian Press
Map Quest General Manager Doug Berger sits on a dock on shore lake ontario , toronto thursday september twenty four two thousand twenty six. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Frank Gunn Keep it Factual
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