With the official unveiling of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s portrait on Feb. 3, here are some stories from the history of the Hill’s prime ministerial collection. By the way, John Diefenbaker loved his flowing academic robe from the University of the Punjab. Like he really loved it, a lot, until it was stolen out of his hotel room one night when he went out for dinner with his wife Olive.
Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warned in 1988 in one of his famous weekly radio addresses: ‘We should beware of the demagogs who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends—weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world—all while cynically waving the American flag.’
When Brian Mulroney won a massive majority in 1984, he thought of his Baie Comeau-paper-mill-working father, his hero; when Jean Chrétien won in 1993, he and Aline, visited his parents graves in Shawinigan, Que., before heading to Ottawa; and when Kim Campbell and the Progressive Conservatives were wiped off the political map in defeat in 1993, she told the crowd, ‘I’m glad I didn’t sell my car.’
On the bicentennial of his birth, Jean Chrétien, Stephen Harper, Jean Charest, Dalton McGuinty, and Bob Rae acknowledge the life and legacy of Thomas D’Arcy McGee whose ‘vision of Canada as a unified nation protecting minority rights was shaped by his experience in his native Ireland and his years living in the U.S. He wanted something better for Canadians,’ says McGuinty.
In light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats and his arrogant insults directed our way, Canada’s past prime ministers have sprung into action. And it’s a wonderful thing.
In the lead-up to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation announcement on Jan. 6, The Hill Times has gathered commentary, kept under embargo until now, from Canadian historians, political scientists, partisans, and public policy experts.
In his diaries, William Lyon Mackenzie King writes about his professional relationship with Justin Trudeau’s maternal grandfather James Sinclair: a skilled campaigner, MP, and a member of King’s caucus.
Tuesday night promises to be a long night in Ottawa, too, particularly for staff in the PCO, PMO, and Foreign Affairs.
History belongs to the durable, and, as former president Herbert Hoover once said about himself, Jimmy Carter has ‘outlived the bastards.’
On Sept. 4, 1984, Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives achieved a historic electoral win, bringing 211 MPs to Ottawa, and shaping a new Canada along the way.
My admiration for the 18th prime minister grew as I learned more about how he managed a caucus and cabinet as he and his government became one of the most activist ever in Canadian history.
Political Ottawa, and the nation itself, would never be the same.
Peter O’Malley, a skilled communications consultant who had also served as Ed Broadbent’s press secretary in the late 1970s and 1980s, died on Jan. 12. He was a gifted storyteller, lovely, fun, curious, intelligent, and one of the Hill’s best conversationalists.
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien, who led the country from 1993-2003 winning three consecutive majority governments, will celebrate his 90 birthday on Jan. 11, and the ‘Little Guy from Shawinigan’ is still at it. Former prime ministers, premiers, and political leaders, meanwhile, are wishing the straight-talking Chrétien well.
The Little Guy from Shawinigan will be turning 90 years old on Jan. 11. He becomes only the fifth prime minister to enter his 90s after Sir Mackenzie Bowell, Sir Charles Tupper, Louis St.-Laurent, and more recently, John Napier Turner.
The most moving eulogy was not delivered in words. Instead, it was the presence of former president Jimmy Carter, the greatest tribute of all. Frail and confined to a wheelchair at age 99, he was with his wife until the end.
