“I did not feel that was what I wanted to do at this stage in my career," he said in making his announcement on October 16, 2001.

His was a history-making Premiership in Canada’s largest province. I recall like yesterday interviewing Premier Harris one-on-one here in Kingston when I worked for the Kingston Whig-Standard. What struck me then, and still does today, is the fact he was a complete master of his brief. He sat before me in his hotel room without a briefing book, nor any staffer being on hand, and answered detailed questions about impacts of his government’s policies in the Limestone City. It was one of the most impressive performances by a political leader I have ever had the honour to interview. caption id="attachment_1108214" align="alignleft" width="423" Official portrait of Mike Harris/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.