MapQuest, the pioneering online mapping service, has become the most downloaded navigation app in the United States after publicly defying President Donald Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America." The app surpassed rivals Google Maps and Apple Maps to claim the No. 1 spot on Apple's App Store as of Tuesday morning, according to a report from TechCrunch confirmed by the Guardian.
Defiance rewarded with record downloads
The surge in popularity follows MapQuest's open dismissal of Trump's 27 August executive order, which directed federal agencies to refer to the smallest of the Great Lakes as "Lake America" amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. TechCrunch reported that the app's downloads "soared" in recent days, making it the fourth most popular app overall in the US, excluding games, and the top navigation app, with Google Maps at No. 2.
In Canada, MapQuest was the second-most downloaded app overall by Sunday night. Doug Berger, MapQuest's general manager, said in a statement that usage was running at about 50 times its usual rate. He added that the company was offering subscribers the chance to generate their own name for the lake as "a bit of fun," using a tool first introduced after Trump rebranded the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" in 2025.
Google and Apple take different paths
Google quickly complied with Trump's demand, showing "Lake America" to US customers, while Apple is reportedly considering a similar change under pressure from the White House. However, MapQuest, a 30-year-old company that bills itself as "the OG" (original) of the internet mapping era, has maintained its refusal. Berger explained: "We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they're familiar with. Hundreds of thousands of people signaled to us this weekend that we got it right, by downloading our app."
MapQuest's defiance began with a social media post on 27 August stating "We're not changing it." The following day, in an all-capital letter post mimicking the president's style, it wrote: "Our maps are big and beautiful. People come up to us and say we'll get them places. And we do!" The company also responded to a user who expressed surprise that MapQuest still existed, replying: "Understandable but the other OG, @RadioShackUSA, is still here too."
Public opinion and political pushback
The renaming effort has found little support among Americans. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday found that only 14% of Americans approved of the lake's renaming, while 20% approved of higher tariffs on Canadian goods, with 57% opposed. Despite this, Trump's interior secretary, Doug Burgum, said on Monday he was "confident" Apple Maps would soon show "Lake America" after the president contacted the company directly. As of Tuesday morning, Apple Maps still displayed Lake Ontario.
Protests have escalated across the border. A giant sign reading "Lake Ontario – Now and Always" in English and French was erected over the weekend near Grimsby, Ontario. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told ABC News: "No one's going to call it Lake of America. It's been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years. It's going to continue being Lake Ontario." On Monday, three Democratic US representatives – Tim Kennedy and Joe Morelle of New York, and Debbie Dingell of Michigan – introduced the Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act, seeking to block the federal order and prevent future renaming attempts.
