The great Sir Charles Tupper, our nation’s 6th Prime Minister, is celebrating his birthday today up there in the great House of Commons (and Confederation conferences) in the sky. One of the most significant Fathers of Confederation, Tupper, known then and now as the Warhorse of Cumberland County (Nova Scotia), served briefly as PM in 1896. His tired party, which had held power since 1878, was defeated by Wilfrid Laurier and his Liberals that year. Sir Charles, however, despite being 75, stayed on as Tory leader and would guide his party though another campaign in 1900. He passed into history in 1914 at age 94, short after publishing his memoirs.
Happy birthday from Art’s History Sir Charles Tupper!
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.