It was on this day in 1949 that one of our greatest Prime Ministers -- the Rt. Hon. Louis St. Laurent -- won the largest majority government (up until that time) in his first national electoral test as PM and party leader. Mr. St. Laurent and his party won a commanding 191 seats and received almost exactly 50 per cent of the popular vote -- the latter a rare accomplishment in our national politics, then and now.
I have two favourite stories from the great man's life as PM. One involves an assistant of his who met his PM boss outside of the office when both were attending services at an Ottawa church. The assistant took his young son over to meet his boss. Upon being introduced to the young boy, Prime Minister St. Laurent shook the boy's hand and said "I work in the same office as your father."
The second is in the same vein. On his very first day as Prime Minister, Mr. St. Laurent -- no surprise! -- worked late into the evening. On departing for home from the East Block, he reached the elevator to discover that the elevator attendant was still on duty, despite the late hour. Mr. St. Laurent asked why the man was still at the ready and discovered that he was not allowed to leave his post until the Prime Minister departed for the day. Mr. St. Laurent put an end to that, announcing to the surprised elevator attendant that even the Prime Minister of Canada could walk down a flight of stairs!
Uncle Louis earned another majority mandate from Canadians in 1953. His accomplishments are legion and include: nominating the first Canadian, Vincent Massey, to serve as Governor General; completing the Trans-Canada Highway; Canada’s leadership role in the founding of NATO; presiding over a booming economy; and bringing Newfoundland into Confederation.
Long ignored by most historians, the tide appears to be changing for Mr. St. Laurent. A distinguished professor from Toronto, Patrice Dutil, organized an impressive academic conference so various experts could share their scholarship surrounding St.-Laurent and his era. Dutil edited the papers delivered at this conference and presented them in his book, The Unexpected Louis St. Laurent. It is a must-read for all of scholars studying the 1940s and 1950s.
Canadians owe a great debt to Patrice Dutil.
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.