A personal political history anniversary for yours truly is on today’s calendar. So, it was on this day in November of 2013 that my former boss from my work on his Memoirs, the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, dropped by our Kingston home to see Alison and I and perform his tree planting in our now famous garden. Eight years later, I can report that the 18th PM's tree is doing fine.
My other Right Honourable tree-planters are, in order of their plantings, John Napier Turner, Paul Martin, Joe Clark, Jean Chrétien, Stephen J. Harper (who was the sitting PM when he visited us) and Kim Campbell. We consider ourselves very privileged to have hosted these distinguished Canadians. Each of their trees are plaqued with pride.
And, another reminder to the current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, that he has promised to perform his tree planting at our home on his next visit to Kingston. We await with excitement the Prime Minister’s visit for his own tree-planting. Over to you Prime Minister Trudeau….
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.