Past prime ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau have airports named after them, and Whitehorse businessman Rolf Hougen thinks the late Erik Nielsen, who served the Yukon as its MP for 30 years, should be similarly honoured.

"Maybe we should name the (Whitehorse) airport after Erik," Hougen, a longtime friend of Nielsen's, said in an interview this morning.

Nielsen, whose career in federal politics spanned four decades, passed away last Thursday at his home in Kelowna, B.C., following a massive heart attack. He was 84.

"His legacy and the contribution he made to the Yukon will take some decades to be recognized," Hougen said. "It was so great, it will be part of history without a doubt."

Among those contributions was the Whitehorse airport; what Hougen calls a "magnificent structure" for the times.

But changing policy and achieving inclusively without conditions for aboriginal people will overshadow Nielsen's infrastructure accomplishments, among them the Dempster Highway and a post office for Old Crow, said Hougen.

"It was his persistence in the House of Commons in 1960 that brought Indian and Inuit people the right to vote," Hougen said of Nielsen's work under then-prime minister John Diefenbaker.

"Prior to that, they had to renounce their Indian status ... and Erik's speeches in the house on this matter are largely forgotten."

Finally, on March 10, 1960, members in the House of Commons voted to give aboriginal people the vote without the condition of giving up their treaty rights in exchange.

According to Hougen, on two occasions, Nielsen considered retiring from politics but was urged to continue.

"I got a call from (then-Progressive Conservative leader) Joe Clark," recalled Hougen

" 'I need Erik in Ottawa, so is there any way you can persuade him for me?' so I told him 'Joe called and needs you to run again.'

"Maybe it was his military background," Hougen speculated as to why Nielsen carried on, when the veteran MP really wanted to spend more time at his cabin on Quiet Lake.

"I suppose he had his commander and he followed orders ... that was the loyalty he showed."

As a pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, Nielsen flew more than 50 bombing missions over Germany, including the D-Day invasion, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

And likely, it was this tenacity and fighting spirit, which served Nielsen well during wartime, that the man, who would become known as "Yukon Erik", took with him to Ottawa to use on behalf of Yukoners.

During Clark's brief nine months as prime minister through 1979/80, it was Nielsen's urging that prompted then-Northern Affairs Minister Jake Epp to revoke the Yukon commissioner's executive powers and place the territory's affairs in the hands of its elected officials.

Under Diefenbaker, it was Nielsen's lobbying for the enfranchisement of aboriginal voters and the significance of getting the Yukon's remote northern community of Old Crow its first post office and nursing station.

"The people of Old Crow never forgot Erik for that and they still honour him for what he did," said Hougen.

And when former prime minister Brian Mulroney solicited Nielsen's support during the Sept. 4, 1984 election campaign, like a good soldier, Yukon Erik answered the call and helped Mulroney win 211 seats - the largest majority government in history.

Last week, The Canadian Press reported that Nielsen was dropped from cabinet in 1987, following what became known as the Sinclair Stevens affair.

While Stevens was accused of benefiting from his ministerial powers, Nielsen, as deputy PM, was forced to defend Stevens with Mulroney away in Korea.

Nielsen's stonewalling of opposition questioning brought criticism and scorn on the government of the day and contributed to Nielsen's resignation.

However, Hougen disputes his friend was ever dumped from Mulroney's cabinet.

"In 1984, when Erik did run at Mulroney's request, he did say he would likely not serve his full term," Hougen told the Star.

"He was not dropped; it wasn't Sinclair Stevens that caused Nielsen to resign ... he really had a desire to retire, so I think it was the combination of things."

Pat Duncan, the former Liberal MLA for Porter Creek South and the territorial premier from 2000 to 2002, worked as Nielsen's constituency affairs assistant in Ottawa from 1984 to 1986, when Nielsen was deputy prime minister.

Duncan said today that no matter how busy Nielsen was, he always made time for Yukoners.

"Everybody wanted their 10 seconds with the deputy prime minister; it was an incredibly busy time," said Duncan.

"But Yukon and Yukoners came first with him and his commitment to the North was incredible."

And his dedication to the Yukon was matched, perhaps, by his attention to matters of public service as an MP, no matter how significant.

"What happens when you become a federal cabinet minister is there's an electronic signature that's made and ministers would use that on all kinds of documents," recalled Duncan, who said Nielsen eschewed the device on nearly every occasion.

"He signed every document personally; he wanted to know everything that was going out with his signature.

"One year, as Minister of Defence, he was presenting diplomas to hundreds of graduates from the Royal Military College in Kingston and he signed every one of those personally - that was the sort of politician he was."

Like Hougen, Duncan believes Nielsen deserves acknowledgement for his contributions.

"I really hope there is some testament to him for his services to the Yukon," said Duncan. "I don't disagree with a building naming but I think he was more than that, so I hope there's some way we can honour him."

Friday's coverage erroneously referred to former Conservative candidate Don Cox as a lawyer.