Johnny May (born 1945) is a Canadian
Inuk bush pilot living in
Kuujjuaq, known as being the first Inuk pilot in eastern Canada. He is credited with saving the lives of many Inuit in search-and-rescue missions and operating
medevac airplane services to transport sick Inuit to health centres. May is the older brother of Canadian
Governor General,
Mary Simon.
Family
His father was a non-Inuit manager of the
Hudson Bay Company trading post in Fort Severight (now
Kangiqsualujjuaq), while his mother was a local Inuk. Among his 7 siblings, his sister
Mary Simon is a former president of
Makivik Corporation, former
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
and the
Governor General of Canada.
Career
May obtained his pilot's licence in 1962 after training in
Pennsylvania. Through his company, Johnny May's Air Charters, he flew search-and-rescue missions in the
Arctic tundra, as well as
medevacs between Inuit villages and from
Nunavik
Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...
to hospitals in southern Canada.
He is known for his annual Christmas candy drop, which occurred annually from 1965 until 2019. On
Christmas day, he would take his airplane and shower the village of
Kuujjuaq with candy and gifts.
Legacy
He was inducted into the Québec Air and Space Hall of Fame in 2010. A movie about his life and career entitled ''The Wings of Johnny May'' was released in 2014 in English, French and
Inuktitut
Inuktitut (; , syllabics ; from , "person" + , "like", "in the manner of"), also Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the tree line, including parts of the provinces o ...
.
A children's book about his annual candy drop titled The Kuujjuaq Christmas Candy Drop by Linda Brand was released in 2015.
In 2017 a short animated film was produced by the CBC called ''The Great Northern Candy Drop''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Johnny
1945 births
Living people
Inuit from Quebec
Canadian aviators