John Turner, who had resigned from Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet only days before, was in Saskatoon on this date in 1975 to help celebrate John Diefenbaker’s 80th birthday. In light of his resignation and the fact he was one of the few Grits to attend the Dief celebrations, Turner was asked by the press if he still remained a Liberal.
“I am not here to join the Conservative party,” he said under questioning from reporters. “I am a Liberal and will remain a Liberal by conviction, friendships and loyalty. “I am here because of my admiration for John Diefenbaker, the greatest parliamentarian of our times and because when a former prime minister reaches 80, that's an event of national significance.”
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.