Today, of course, is the birthday of our 12th Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Louis St.-Laurent. Born in 1882, he was destined to become one of Canada’s most successful lawyers, even serving as President of the Canadian Bar Association. Early in the Second World War he answered Canada’s call to duty and left his well-paid legal career to enter Prime Minister Mackenzie King’ cabinet as Minister of Justice and Quebec Lieutenant.
In 1948, St.-Laurent succeeded King as Liberal leader and Prime Minister and served in Canada’s top political post for nine years. He guided the nation through the early post-war years and along the way would become one of Canada’s greatest 20th Century Prime Ministers. Mr. St.-Laurent turns 144 years old today and celebrating his birthday up there in the great House of Commons in the sky. Happy birthday Uncle Louis!
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.