For American presidential speechwriters, their patron saint is, of course, Teddy Sorensen, the young man from Nebraska who assisted John F. Kennedy with so many of the U.S. Senator and President’s famous public addresses.For Canadian prime ministerial and national leader speechwriters, our patron saint is none other than Leonard Brockington. Then a youthful public servant, Brockington was pressed into service to assist Prime Minister Mackenzie King with many of the latter’s addresses. He is believed to be the very first full-time political speechwriter in Canadian political history (though some might have other candidates). Like any good prime ministerial speechwriter today, Mr. Brockington was modest and rarely discussed his speechwriting work for his Prime Minister.Long-associated with Queen’s University here in Kingston, Mr. Brockington died on this date in 1966.More than a decade ago, while Pierre Trudeau’s respected chief speechwriter Tom Axworthy headed the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy, he and I founded the informal Leonard Brockington Society of Canadian Political Speechwriters. Our society only meets via email when we occasionally, in a non-partisan fashion, rate significant political addresses in our own time. The only requirement of membership is that you must have served in a speechwriting capacity for a Prime Minister, Premier, or national party leader.So, having proudly worked with then Prime Minister Harper as a speechwriter, and as a co-founder of the Leonard Brockington Society of Canadian Political Speechwriters, it is no surprise that I am honouring Leonard Brockington on this date.caption id="attachment_583600" align="alignleft" width="194"
Leonard Brockington/captionArthur 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.
Leonard Brockington/captionArthur 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.