Today is an important anniversary for the very political Manning family of Alberta.  It was, of course, on this date in 1943, that the legend that was Ernest Manning was sworn-in as the 8th Premier of Alberta.  Manning had been a minister in Premier William Aberhart's Social Credit government and was only 35 when he succeeded his boss as leader, following Aberhart's passing. The father of Reform Party founder Preston Manning, Ernest went on to serve a commanding quarter-century as Premier of his province, a record that still has not been topped. Upon retiring from provincial politics, Ernest Manning was summoned to the Senate on the advice of then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.  He served in the Red Chamber until he turned 75 in 1983.  Former Premier Manning passed into history in 1996. caption id="attachment_562325" align="aligncenter" width="259" Ernest Manning/caption

Birthday Alert

Birthday Alert from Art's History: Sending out birthday greetings to Rosemary Barton, CBC's Chief Political Correspondent, who is celebrating her big day today!   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.