Prime Minister Mackenzie King was in Ottawa on this date in 1943 and took time out to meet with one of his MPs who had served with distinction in the war. James Sinclair, MP, of course, would decades later become the grandfather of none other than Justin Trudeau, Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister. Only recently back from the front lines overseas, Sinclair reported to his leader on attitudes towards the King government he had found amongst various members of Canada’s forces. I’ll let Mr. King tell the rest via his famous diary.
“Had a short interview with Flight Lieutenant (James) Sinclair (MP for Vancouver North), who has just returned from Italy,” King recorded. “His squadron first to enter Sicily. Looks exceedingly well. Is going to remain now in civil life, follow up Parliamentary duties. He told me the… officers of the army practically all Tory, and men strongly CCF, though all admit the present (Liberal) government has been splendidly behind the armed forces… I confess I felt a little discouraged at the word he brought about the men in the army. He thinks the navy is Liberal. He came (back to Canada) on one of the destroyers. Says what those men endure is greater than anything endured by either the army or the air force.”
Sinclair, of course, would later serve with distinction in the cabinet of King’s successor, the great Louis St.-Laurent.
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.