Today is an important anniversary for all my NDP friends to remember.  It was, of course, on March 24, 2012 that Tom Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister and high-ranking civil servant, was elected the party’s federal leader, replacing Jack Layton, who had died the summer before. Highly effective on his feet in the House of Commons, Mulcair was even described by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as the “best Leader of the Opposition since John Diefenbaker.” Mr. Mulcair remained NDP leader through the 2015 election which saw his party lose 51 seats and revert back to its usual third-party status.  Still, by winning 44 seats Mulcair ensured his party would remain a national force to reckon with. He stepped down as leader in 2018 and resigned his Commons seat not long after.  Today he is a much sought-after political commentator. Happy anniversary Mr. Mulcair! caption id="attachment_314883" align="aligncenter" width="440" Former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair/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.