 The following year, he was appointed secretary to the Education Commission and then to the Postal Service Commission before he became Deputy Provincial Secretary for Canada East, an office he retained from 1842 to 1847.His diplomatic nature enabled him to work easily between all of the political parties at a turbulent time in Canadian politics.In his spare time, Dunkin had started studying law in the offices of Alexander Buchanan and then Francis Godschall Johnson and was called to the Bar in 1846.