As with all things Prime Ministerial in Canada, our greatest Prime Minister (along with Laurier), Sir John A. Macdonald, chalked up many “firsts” during his distinguished career. So, of course, it is no surprise to learn that his was the first-ever PM portrait unveiled on Parliament Hill. And it was Sir John A. himself who presided over his own ceremony on February 27, 1890. His speech that historic day is found below.Sir John A. Macdonald: I would indeed be insensitive if I were not deeply affected by the address, the too flattering address, that has been read, and by your kind friendship and confidence in me. You have alluded to the services that I have been able to render Canada, and while I cannot lay claim to all the merit that you been kind enough in your address to state was mine, I am vain enough to believe that I have not been a lagging or unfaithful representative of the great principles of the great party to which we all belong.I have always felt since I entered public life that the interests, the future prosperity of Canada, rests upon the development of that party. (Applause.)If you look back upon the history of Canada since 1841 you will find that all the real progress that has been made by Canada, be it material or social, was made during the time when the Conservative influence was predominant. (Applause.) The party to which we belong is not an exclusive party, and we have shown that to be the case from the commencement of the period where the old name of Tory was given up as being rather restricted in its application. It is a name of which nobody need be ashamed – (applause) – at all events I am not ashamed of it. (Applause.) My father before me was a Tory, and a Tory I will die. (Applause.)The aim of the Conservatives of 1841, when Upper and Lower Canada were united, was to be a proselytizing body, not to be an exclusive body. They wanted to widen our bounds, to endeavor to enlist all good men, all men who had the real interests of this country at heart, within our ranks.We were exceedingly successful. If you go back to 1841 you will remember that the great leader of the Reform party in the Province of Upper Canada was the late revered Robert Baldwin. In the Province of Lower Canada, the leader was equally revered and respected – Louis Lafontaine. (Applause.) These men, from the accidental fact that the Liberal party were fighting for responsible government, were reckoned among the Reform party and opposed to the old Tory (party). But these men were as true Conservative as any one of you and when they had fought the battle of responsible government, when they had succeeded in gaining from the Imperial authorities the right of self-government to the fullest extent, their Conservative principles shone out without any check or party obligations to prevent them from uniting in spirit, if not in actual political bond, with the great Liberal-Conservative party. The consequence was that … the great body of the Baldwin Reformers joined the Conservative party, and if you look round the Province of Ontario you will find that among the truest Conservatives that are to be found in the province will be reckoned in the Baldwin Reformers.So, in the Province of Lower Canada, now Quebec. The moment the principle for which the Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration fought and was granted, the whole body of followers of Sir Louis Lafontaine, headed by the lieutenant and disciple, Sir George Cartier, joined the Conservative party and have been united with it ever since. (Applause.) The federation of the provinces to which you allude was, however, not the act of the Liberal-Conservatives alone.The late George Brown, who was then the leader of the Reform party, an extreme partisan, a man of great ability, but also a man of very extreme views, which he was desirous of pressing to the utmost, caused such disturbance between the two sections of the United Canada that he himself was appalled at the consequences of his own violence. He found that anarchy was imminent. A Conservative government was tried and it failed. A Reform government was tried, and it failed; and at last, it was found there could be no permanent government for the United Canada unless some great step was taken, and, frightened at the consequences of his own partisan violence, and being, I am bound to give him credit for it, anxious to restore something like peace and prosperity to Canada, he united with myself and those who acted with me in carrying the Confederation of the provinces.We succeeded but he did not long remain with us. Having helped almost to carry the Confederation Act to England, he withdrew for reasons which we need not discuss, and from the time when he withdrew the whole weight of the inauguration and carrying out and development of the Confederation scheme fell upon the Conservatives of Upper and Lower Canada and their allies from the Maritime provinces; and I must say to you that I look back with great pleasure and with great admiration at the single-hearted and earnest way in which the delegates from the Maritime provinces addressed themselves to the great project, and how much they sacrificed of personal ambitions and  personal status in consenting that their provinces, formerly equal in rank and statue within Canada, should be merged with Canada by the Confederation Act. But they have got their reward. If you look back over the list of these gentlemen who united with us in 1866 and 1867 in carrying Confederation, you will see that what I say is true. Some of them have gone to the join the majority, but they died honoured and respected by those whose councils they guided into Confederation. Others have held high positions ever since, and they are now in their old age enjoying the reward of seeing Canada a united, a great and a prosperous country. (Great applause.)Let me thank you very for this crowning proof of your kindness and confidence. On the downward hill of life, which I am slow descending, it is gratifying to know that I have that which Shakespeare speaks of, ‘Honour, respect and troops of friends.’ (Applause.) If I have been successful, and if my efforts in any way added towards the great advancement of our great country, I owe it to the brave men, the stout-hearted and loyal and true, who stood by me through good report and evil reports since I entered public life.I am proud to feel and to know that in my 75th year I am surrounded by the representatives of the people from all parts of the Dominion. I am confidently and without flattery telling you in no single Parliament that I have sat can I reckon upon a great number of able men, of honest, of men truly loyal and patriotic. (Applause.) It is a great satisfaction to me to think that when I leave the Parliament of Canada, I leave its destinies in the hands of as able a body of men as ever made up any Parliament in its existence.Pardon me for occupying your time so long. My heart is full when I think of your kindness and of the honour that have conferred upon me. My children behind me will look upon this token of your kindness with veneration, and it will make them think the more of their parent when he is gone, when they have here such striking evidence of the high esteem of those men whose approbation is worth seeking. (Applause.)[caption id="attachment_542209" align="aligncenter" width="400"] This portrait of Sir John Alexander Macdonald was unveiled in 1890 in the original Parliament Building.[/caption]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.