A mountain peak has been named after one of Alberta's best-loved public figures.

The newly named Grant MacEwan peak is in Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is the highest elevation on Heart Mountain, at the end of a popular scramble trail.

Dr. Grant MacEwan 'loved the mountains, the trees, the animals and the birds,' according to his daughter Heather
(Courtesy of Grant MacEwan College)

The province officially named the peak Thursday, without ceremony.

"He loved the mountains, the trees, the animals and the birds," said his daughter Heather MacEwan-Foran. "I think of nature when I think of my dad, so having a mountain named after him is very fitting."

Grant MacEwan was lieutenant-governor of Alberta, mayor of Calgary and an author of folksy books on western Canadian history.

An avid naturalist, MacEwan died in 2000 at the age of 97.

A view of Calgary

David Wasserman spearheaded the campaign to name a piece of Alberta after MacEwan.

Picking the right peak was important, said Wasserman, president of the Edmonton-based Grant MacEwan Mountain Club.
  
"Dr. MacEwan was known as a man of the people, easily accessed by common people, and so we wanted a peak that was also easily accessed," he said Thursday.

"One of the features of that particular point is that from the summit on a clear day, it is possible to see the city of Calgary. That is very much important in the sense that Grant MacEwan was the mayor of the city of Calgary."

MacEwan was born on a farm near Brandon, Man. He graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College in 1926.

'Conscious of the things that count'

He enjoyed a variety of careers, including teaching and writing a newspaper column.

MacEwan shifted to politics when he was elected to Calgary city council in 1952. He became the city's mayor 11 years later. His first act was to ask for a pay cut.

MacEwan made his mark as Alberta's lieutenant-governor between 1966 and 1974. He is remembered for showing up at ceremonies in muddy gumboots and enjoying country picnics more than black-tie affairs.

He was known for his devotion to education and environmental issues. Several colleges and schools bear his name.

"I'm glad to see that the public is becoming conscious of the things that count: air, water, soil, freedom of ideas," said MacEwan in 1989.