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Why on earth would we name a new footbridge in central Ottawa after Flora MacDonald?

Still don’t get this one.

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On July 11, Ottawa City Council was unanimous in approving the naming of the $21-million bridge (by the way, $21 million for a shortcut?) between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street.

MacDonald, certainly, had an admirable career and is probably best-known as Canada’s first female foreign affairs minister in the government of Joe Clark. She did lots of other great stuff and has won a whack of awards and honorary degrees. Good for her.

Born in Nova Scotia, she represented a riding in Kingston for 16 years. She was so well-loved there that, in 1989, they renamed part of the lakefront after her: the Flora MacDonald Confederation Basin, which sits across from city hall in the limestone city.

So she will forever make waves in Lake Ontario, the sun and moon rising around her, long after her passing in 2015.