Ottawa’s politicos were experiencing one of their busiest days ever on this date in 1947. President Harry Truman was in town to deliver an address before MPs and Senators. And if a visit by the U.S. President wasn’t enough to keep official Ottawa occupied, it was also the date for the dedication of the official portraits of the late Sir Robert Borden. The second Prime Ministerial portrait to be unveiled was that of – wait for it – Mackenzie King. You will find Mr. King’s remarks below.
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.