Days after the Conservatives were defeated in the federal election, an online petition is circulating to rename the Calgary International Airport after outgoing prime minister Stephen J. Harper.

R. Curtis Mullen created on Sunday, and as of Tuesday afternoon it had more than 2,900 signatures. 

Mullen told CTV Calgary that Harper, who served as prime minister for nearly a decade, is worthy of the honour.

"Harper is the longest serving prime minister from Western Canada," he said. "He tried to make the country a better place. He worked hard and those accomplishments should be recognized."

Originally from Ontario, Harper moved to Alberta to work in the petroleum industry in the 1970s. He maintains a permanent home in Calgary, and was re-elected in the federal election as MP for the riding of Calgary Heritage.

But there is also a , which argues that the airport's name should not be changed. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, that counter-petition had collected more than 5,200 signatures.

"There is currently a petition to rename the airport after Stephen Harper. I oppose this so strongly that I wanted to provide a platform for others who also oppose it," Alison Cowan, the creator of the counter-petition, wrote online.

Meanwhile, travellers at the Calgary airport had mixed views on re-naming the terminal in honour of Canada鈥檚 22nd prime minister.

"He did an excellent job for all Canadians, so let's name the airport after him," one man said.

Others, however, said the city should be more conservative in selecting a name for its gateway to the world.

"I don't think he's really worthy of changing the name. I think we should just leave it the way it is," another man said.

When asked by CTV Calgary, airport officials had no comment on the proposed name change, noting that the issue falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Prime Minister鈥檚 Office also had no comment on the issue.

Other airports in Canada have been named after former prime ministers, including Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Saskatoon's John G. Diefenbaker International Airport.

Each of those airports were renamed in honour of the former prime ministers after the leaders had died.

With a report from CTV Calgary's Brad MacLeod