Fly in the Face of Tradition

In the aftermath of the recent Canadian election, two petitions have begun to circulate online. The first is a petition to name the Calgary International Airport (YYC) after outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The second is one to prevent this happening. (I also saw the suggestion that a waste dump be named after him, which goes to show the extremely strong emotions the election raised).

When I look at the major/semi-major airport names in Canada, if they have been named after a person, they have been named after a man:

• Billy Bishop airport (Toronto city)
• Stanfield (Halifax)
• Trudeau (Montreal)
• Diefenbaker (Saskatoon)
• Pearson (Toronto)
• Erik Nielsen (Whitehorse)
• James Armstrong Richardson (Winnipeg)
• John Munro (Hamilton)
• Chris Hadfield (Sarnia)
• MacDonald Cartier (Ottawa)

I can't actually think of a major US airport named after a woman, either.

Let's fly in the face of tradition, which is becoming a Calgary tradition...after all, we did elect the first Muslim mayor in North America (who was recently awarded the honour of the World's Best Mayor). If the Calgary airport gets named, let's name it after a woman. I can think of some awesome ones, especially the Famous Five, solo or chorus: Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards. The Famous Five International Airport?

Update: Someone has suggested another possibility, Pincher Creek, Alberta native Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada