In a move worthy of our two greatest politician-Prime Ministers -- Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid Laurier -- Pierre Trudeau on this date in 1979 reversed his earlier resignation as Liberal leader (that had followed his defeat in the May 1979 election won by Joe Clark).  The former Prime Minister decided, with the defeat of Joe Clark’s minority Conservatives on a confidence motion a few days before, that he actually wouldn’t mind another chance at serving as PM. Trudeau’s decision to reassume leadership of the Liberal Party proved a significant one.  We all know what happened a few months later -- Trudeau’s decision paid off, and yes indeed, he was Prime Minister yet again, as the Liberals were rewarded with a solid majority.  The decision and political comeback ultimately resulted in Trudeau serving as Prime Minister for 16 years, with Joe Clark’s short-lived Progressive Conservative government the only interruption in a remarkable career in office. The Finance Minister in Joe Clark’s PC government in 1979 was John Crosbie, whose budget was defeated in the vote that triggered the election.  In 1984, when Mr. Trudeau announced what proved to be his real retirement, John Crosbie, perhaps still smarting from the 1979 experience, said he would not believe that Prime Minister Trudeau was leaving until he actually quit. ''Once bitten, twice shy,'' said Mr. Crosbie. While Mr. Trudeau’s closest advisors did not know whether the past PM would reverse his decision to resign as leader, the famed Allan J. MacEachen wrote in his still unpublished memoirs (full disclosure, I had the honour of being one of those who assisted the late Mr. MacEachen in preparing his own story) that he was sure ahead of the announcement. “The only comment I recall making to him was that he would be expected to do his duty (and lead the party into the campaign) once the vote (defeating Prime Minister Clark’s government in the House) was over,” Allan J. wrote in a 2009 column in the Toronto Star based on our work on his book. “He understood what I meant.  He understood as well as I did that it would be irresponsible for him to lead our Liberal colleagues in the defeat of the government and then fail to lead them into a resultant election.  He gave me his reply in the form of a smile.” Later in the piece, Allan J. continued: “Defeating the government under Trudeau's leadership was more than the defeat of the Clark government. It was, on the part of each member who voted, an act of confidence in Trudeau that did not terminate at the end of the vote. Otherwise, we were irresponsible and not to be taken seriously. While Trudeau and I never later discussed this, I believe today the same logic and obligation applied for him. I believed then as I do now that in leading his members to defeat the government he also assumed the obligation to lead them into the election. There was no place for a "dropout" in the scenario. I had no doubt that Trudeau understood this quite well. Once the caucus and later the national executive gave the support he requested, I was convinced Trudeau would respond positively.” Later in the piece, Allan J. continued: “Defeating the government under Trudeau's leadership was more than the defeat of the Clark government. It was, on the part of each member who voted, an act of confidence in Trudeau that did not terminate at the end of the vote. Otherwise, we were irresponsible and not to be taken seriously. While Trudeau and I never later discussed this, I believe today the same logic and obligation applied for him. I believed then as I do now that in leading his members to defeat the government he also assumed the obligation to lead them into the election. There was no place for a "dropout" in the scenario. I had no doubt that Trudeau understood this quite well. Once the caucus and later the national executive gave the support he requested, I was convinced Trudeau would respond positively.” You can read Mr. MacEachen’s full column here. What is also worth recalling is just how rare it is for a Canadian Prime Minister to get another chance at returning to the PMO  after being defeated. Only Sir John A. – our greatest Prime Minister along with Laurier – Arthur Meighen (briefly in 1926) and Mackenzie King have pulled this off. So we political history junkies, regardless of party, are right to honour Mr. Trudeau Sr. today! L to R: Anne Jamieson; Elizabeth Fetterley (white dress); Tom Axworthy; Peggy Dillman (black dress, front row); unidentified (behind former); Hon. Alan Lutfy (far back); Jim Coutts; PM Pierre Trudeau; unidentified (foreground, sitting) Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also proudly served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.