Digital maps platform MapQuest has become the number one free app on Apple’s U.S. App Store after the platform gained thousands of downloads following its refusal to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. 

MapQuest recorded thousands of new downloads with its usage service increasing by about 50 times than its normal level, overtaking other platforms such as ChatGPT, TikTok Pro, ESPN Fantasy Sports and Vinted.

Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, said the decision was taken in respect of the same approach that was used for the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr Berger said, “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.”  

He added that the decision was also influenced by feedback from users who downloaded the app.

Other platforms such as Apple Maps and Google Maps have changed the name of the lake for U.S. users.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America after negotiations with Canada had collapsed on trade.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney and the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, have firmly rejected the U.S. order, emphasising that it breaches the nation’s sovereignty. They added that the lake will remain known as Lake Ontario.