A big anniversary today to mark for all those who, like me, love Canada’s rich parliamentary traditions and the House of Commons itself. So, it was on this date in 2001 – exactly 20 years ago – that my fellow Kingstonian, Peter Milliken, was elected by his fellow MPs as Speaker of the Commons for the first time. He went on to be re-elected by MPs through numerous Parliaments, becoming Canada’s longest-serving Speaker in the process.
What is less well-known about Peter is the fact he was one of the truly great constituency MPs I have ever been able to witness. First elected in 1988, we Kingstonians sent him back to Ottawa so many times that he made history again, becoming the longest-serving Kingston MP in history. Yes, he even beat the great Sir John A.’s Kingston record of local service.
Peter was such an effective local MP that it made voting easy for Kingstonians during the Milliken Years here. It didn’t matter whether one was a Tory, Grit, NDPer or Green; one’s vote was always safe with him. Folks of all party views cast their ballots for him here.
Personally, I owe Peter Milliken a great deal. Thanks to him I was able to meet world leaders like then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, accompany him on a working visit to the U.S. Capitol and even spend the night at Mackenzie King’s Kingsmere, the Speaker’s Official Residence. So, with all this in mind it is a particular pleasure to use “Art’s History” today to pay tribute to my friend, the Hon. Peter Milliken.
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Former Speaker (and Longest Serving Kingston MP) Hon. Peter Milliken/caption
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 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.
Former Speaker (and Longest Serving Kingston MP) Hon. Peter Milliken/caption
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 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. 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 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.