Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier was born on this day in 1841, in the small town of Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Quebec.  He studied law at McGill, practiced, became mayor of Victoriaville and then was elected to the provincial legislature, where he served from 1871-74.   He switched to federal politics at that point, running as a Liberal, and went on to serve almost 45 years of consecutive service in the House of Commons - a record that stands to this day.  He holds another impressive parliamentary record: an unbroken 15-year tenure as Prime Minister.

I have long considered both Laurier and his rival, Sir John A. Macdonald of Kingston, to be our greatest Prime Ministers.  Both had the vision, political skill, and the courage and compromise needed to cement a permanent northern nation on the North American continent distinct from the United States.

By the time both Prime Ministers had passed into history (Sir John in 1891 and Sir Wilfrid in 1919) – after their combined service as PMs of 34 years – the young Dominion they both crafted could move forward with confidence and panache, a country envied – as it is today – the world over.

Happy Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day!caption id="attachment_555557" align="alignleft" width="386" A youthful Wilfrid Laurier/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.