Nova Scotia’s first post-Confederation Premier took office on this day in 1867 with Hiram Blanchard taking on the province’s top political job. People often forget today just how unpopular Confederation was in Nova Scotia. That was reflected in the fact that Premier Blanchard, a pro-Confederation man, was swept from power only three months later when, at the polls this time, Nova Scotians expressed their displeasure at being part of the new Dominion.You can read more about this unsung hero of Confederation at his entry from the on-line edition of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography at this link.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.