It was on this day in 1965 that the results came in after a federal election that had featured three great Canadian party leaders auditioned before the electorate. When the polls closed it was soon revealed that Canadians had granted Lester B. Pearson his second minority mandate after he faced off against John Diefenbaker and Tommy Douglas during the campaign. Among the MPs sent to the Commons that year for the first time was a Montreal professor by the name of Pierre Trudeau. He joined the re-elected John Turner and Jean Chrétien in the Pearson caucus. All three men, of course, would become Prime Minister in the years ahead.
As for Mr. Diefenbaker, almost alone, often with only Olive at his side, barnstormed the country, traveling by campaign train, a Canadian version of Harry Truman's 1948 whistle-stop success. While he did not return to the office he had held from 1957 to 1963, his train tour and unmatched skill on the hustings allowed him to hold the Liberals to a minority. Mr. Douglas also brought his legendary oratorical skill to the election, rounding out a wonderful campaign. Perhaps best of all, 75 per cent of Canadians did their duty and cast ballots that special year. Canadian democracy was healthy and impressive, a good omen for all.
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.