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It’s not often that a third-party mapping app pops up in the charts above such stalwarts as Apple Maps and Google Maps, but MapQuest has done just that.Yes, the app that you used to print out directions from is currently the number 1 free app in the Apple Store as of Tuesday, above ChatGPT, Vinted, and ESPN Fantasy Sports. In the Google Play Store, it’s currently ranked 9 overall.But why this sudden rise? It all has to do with Trump’s trade war with Canada.Last week, as tensions escalated between the U.S. President and Canada over tariffs, Trump announced via Truth Social that he was re-naming Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” and followed that up with an executive order over the weekend.After the announcement, Google changed its maps on Saturday, so that U.S. users would see “Lake America,” rather than the internationally accepted Lake Ontario. Canadian Google Maps users will continue to see only Lake Ontario, which those outside those countries will see both names.
Lake Ontario, as shown in Google Maps in the U.S. (Image credit: Mapquest)Google says it updated the name to reflect the changes in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which follows the precedent set when Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.” Waze, which is owned by Google, also changed the names of both bodies of water.As a result, many Google Maps users, both in the U.S. and internationally, who are opposed to Trump’s policies, looked for an alternative, which has led to MapQuest’s meteoric rise, thanks in part to its statement that it would not change the name of the great lake, via a post on X.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.As of Monday afternoon, Apple Maps still shows Lake Ontario with its original name, but displays the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”"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," said Doug Berger, General Manager of MapQuest in a press statement. "Hundreds of thousands of people signaled to us this weekend that we got it right, by downloading our app."According to the company, the app’s rank is the highest it’s been in the company’s 30-year history.The company even went so far as to launch a little game where you can rename Lake Ontario, and then share the new moniker via social media.
