John Diefenbaker

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The Right Honourable  John George Diefenbaker  PC, CH, QC, BA, LLD, FRSC, FRSA
Diefenbaker speaking in the House of Commons
13th Prime Minister of Canada
In office 21 June 1957 – 22 April 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Vincent Massey Georges Vanier
Preceded by	Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by	Lester B. Pearson
Born	18 September 1895(1895-09-18) Neustadt, Ontario
Died	16 August 1979 (aged 83) Ottawa, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Edna Brower (1929–1951, deceased) Olive Palmer (1953–1976, deceased)
Children	none
Alma mater	University of Saskatchewan
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Canadian Baptist
Signature

John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC, FRSC, FRSA (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) led Canada as its 13th Prime Minister, serving from June 21, 1957 to April 22, 1963. The only Progressive Conservative Party (PC) leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead his party to an election victory, he did so three times, though only once with a majority of the seats in the Canadian House of Commons.

Diefenbaker was born in western Ontario in 1895. In 1903, his family trekked west to the portion of the Northwest Territories which would shortly thereafter become the province of Saskatchewan. He grew up in the province, and was interested in politics from a young age. He became an attorney, and repeatedly contested elections through the 1920s and 1930s. He had little success, until he was finally elected to the House of Commons in 1940.

After entering the Commons, he was a repeated candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives. He was eventually successful in 1956, and would lead the party for 11 years; though five of those years were spent as Leader of the Official Opposition. In 1957, he lead the party to its first electoral victory in 27 years and a year later called a snap election and led it to one of its greatest triumphs. During his six years as Prime Minister, he established the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Royal Commission on Health Services, the Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act, the National Productivity Council (Economic Council of Canada), and granting the franchise to all Aboriginal peoples. Diefenbaker is also remembered for his role in the cancellation of the Avro Arrow.

Though factionalism within the party was muted by Diefenbaker's electoral success, it surged again as the Progressive Conservatives lost electoral support, falling from office in 1963, and his opponents were able to force a leadership convention in 1967. Diefenbaker stood at the last moment, but only attracted minimal support, and the former Prime Minister withdrew from contention. Diefenbaker remained an MP until his death in 1979, only three months after Joe Clark became the first PC Prime Minister since Diefenbaker.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Barrister and candidate (1919–1940) 2.1 Wakaw days (1919-1924) 2.2 Perennial candidate (1924-1929) 2.3 Provincial politician (1929-1940) 3 Parliamentary rise (1940–1957) 3.1 Member of Parliament 3.2 Leader of the Opposition; 1957 election 4 Prime Minister (1957–1963) 4.1 Domestic events and policies 4.1.1 Minority government 4.1.2 1958 election 5 Later years (1963–1979) 5.1 Return to opposition 5.2 Final years 6 Death 7 Legacy 8 Supreme Court appointments 9 Honours 10 See also 11 References 12 Bibliography 13 External links

[edit] Early life

Diefenbaker was born on 18 September 1895, in Neustadt, Ontario, to William Thomas Diefenbaker and Mary Florence Bannerman.^[1] His paternal grandfather, George Diefenbacher (sometimes Diefenbacker) was an immigrant from the Baden region of Germany, while Mary Diefenbaker was of Scotch descent.^[2] William Diefenbaker was a teacher, and the family moved to several locations in Ontario in John's early years.^[1] William Diefenbaker had deep interests in history and politics, which he sought to inculcate in his students. He had remarkable success doing so, of the 28 students at his school in Todmorden, Ontario (now part of Toronto, but at the time rural) in 1903, four served as Conservative MPs in the 19th Canadian Parliament beginning in 1940, including his son.

The Diefenbaker family moved west in 1903 for William Diefenbaker to accept a position near Fort Carlton, then in the Northwest Territories but now in Saskatchewan.^[3] In 1906, William claimed a quarter-section of undeveloped land near Borden.^[4] Despite a number of setbacks, William was eventually able to fulfil the government's requirements for homesteading, and gained full title to the land in 1909.^[5] In February 1910, however, William Diefenbaker accepted a position in the Provincial Land Titles Office and the Diefenbaker family moved to Saskatoon, which had just been selected as the site of the University of Saskatchewan. William and Mary Diefenbacker felt that John and his brother Elmer would have greater educational opportunities in Saskatoon.^[6]

John Diefenbaker had been interested in politics from an early age, and told his mother at the age of eight or nine that he would some day be Prime Minister. She told him that it was an impossible ambition, especially for a boy living in isolation on the Prairies. She would live to be proved wrong.^[7] John's first contact with politics came in 1910, when he sold a newspaper to Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in town to lay the cornerstone for the University's first building. The present and future Prime Ministers conversed, and when giving his speech that afternoon, Sir Wilfrid commented on the newsboy who had ended their conversation by saying, "I can't waste any more time on you, Prime Minister. I must get about my work."^[6]

After graduating from high school in Saskatoon, Diefenbaker entered the University of Saskatchewan in 1912, and was given an advanced placement as a sophomore.^[8] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1915, and continued at the University to receive his Master of Arts, which was conferred on him in 1916.^[9] He spent one summer working as a teacher in Wheat Heart, Saskatchewan^[10] and another selling books of Bible stories. He was so successful in the latter capacity that he was written up in the company newsletter, and gave his selling motto as "Stop bawling, get right in and do some mauling."^[9]

When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1914, it did so on its own behalf, and on behalf of Canada and the other Dominions.^[9] Diefenbaker enlisted in the militia in March 1916, and was sent to Winnipeg for training. He was commissioned a lieutenant in May. He returned to Saskatoon, and began his legal training in a lawyer's office. In September, as British and Canadian forces incurred tremendous losses in the Battle of the Somme, Diefenbaker was part of a contingent of 300 junior officers sent to the United Kingdom for pre-deployment training. Diefenbaker related in his memoirs that he was hit by a shovel wielded by another trainee, and the injury eventually resulted in his being invalided home. Diefenbaker's recollections do not correspond with his army medical records, which show no contemporary account of such an injury, and his biographer, Denis Smith, speculates that any injury was psychosomatic.^[11]

Diefenbaker returned to Saskatchewan where he resumed his work as an articling student in law. He was allowed to count his wartime service toward his law degree, which he received in 1919. He was the first student to secure three degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. On 30 June 1919, after he finished seventh out of thirty-nine candidates in the bar examination, he was called to the bar, and the following day, opened a small practice in the village of Wakaw, Saskatchewan.^[12]

[edit] Barrister and candidate (1919–1940)

[edit] Wakaw days (1919-1924)

Although Wakaw had a population of only 400, it sat at the heart of a densely populated area of rural townships and had its own district court. It was also easily accessible to Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Humboldt, where the Court of King's Bench sat. The local people were mostly immigrants, and Diefenbaker's research found them to be particularly litigious. There was only one barrister in town, A.E. Stewart, but the townsfolk were loyal to him and initially refused to rent office space to Diefenbaker. The new attorney was forced to rent a vacant lot and erect a two-room wooden shack.^[13]

Diefenbaker won the local people over through his success; in his first year in practice, he tried 62 jury trials, winning about half. He rarely called defence witnesses, thereby avoiding the possibility of rebuttal witnesses for the Crown, and securing the last word for himself.^[14] In late 1920, he was elected to the village council to serve a three-year term.^[15] It would be the last election he would win for twenty years.

Diefenbaker would often spend weekends with his parents in Saskatoon. While there, he began to woo Olive Freeman, daughter of the Baptist minister, but she moved with her family to Brandon, Manitoba in 1921, and the two lost touch for more than twenty years. He then courted Beth Newell, a cashier in Saskatoon, and by 1922, the two were engaged. However, in 1923, Newell was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and Diefenbaker broke off contact with her. She died the following year. Diefenbaker was himself subject to internal bleeding, and may have feared that the disease would be transmitted to him. In late 1923, he had an operation at the Mayo Clinic for a gastric ulcer, but his health remained uncertain for several more years.^[16]

After four years of practice in Wakaw, Diefenbaker dominated the local legal practice, to such an extent that his competitor, Stewart, left town. On May 1, 1924, Diefenbaker moved to Prince Albert, leaving a law partner in charge of the Wakaw office.^[17]

[edit] Perennial candidate (1924-1929)

Since it entered Confederation in 1905, Saskatchewan had been dominated by the Liberal Party. The Liberals practiced machine politics, and Diefenbaker was fond of stating, in his later years, that the only protection a Conservative had in the province was that afforded by the game laws.

Diefenbaker's father, William, was a Liberal, but John Diefenbaker found himself attracted to the Conservative Party. Free trade was widely popular throughout Western Canada, but Diefenbaker was convinced by the Conservative position that free trade would make Canada an economic dependent of the United States.^[18] However, he had not spoken out politically. Diefenbaker recalled in his memoirs that in 1921, he had been elected as secretary of the Wakaw Liberal Association while absent in Saskatoon, and returned to find the association's records in his office. He promptly returned them to the association president. Nonetheless, in March 1925, after Diefenbaker's departure for Prince Albert, the association considered nominating him for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, but the motion was defeated. Diefenbaker also stated that he had been told that if he became a Liberal candidate, there was no position in the province which would not be open to him.^[19]

It was not until 1925 that Diefenbaker publicly came forward as a Conservative, a year in which both federal and provincial elections were likely. Diefenbaker biographer Peter Newman suggests that this choice was made for practical, rather than political reasons, as Diefenbaker had little chance of defeating established politicians and securing the Liberal nomination for either the House of Commons or the Legislative Assembly.^[20] The provincial election took place in early June; Liberals would later claim that Diefenbaker had campaigned for that party in the election. On 19 June, however, Diefenbacker addressed a Conservative organizing committee, and on 6 August was nominated as the party's candidate for the federal riding of Prince Albert—a district in which the party's last candidate had lost his deposit. A nasty campaign ensued, in which Diefenbaker was called a Hun because of his Germanic surname. The 1925 federal election was held on 29 October. He finished third behind the Liberal and Progressive Party candidates, and lost his deposit.^[21]

The winning candidate, Charles McDonald, did not hold the seat long, resigning it to open a place for the Prime Minister, William Mackenzie King, who had been defeated in his Ontario riding. The Conservatives ran no candidate against Mackenzie King in the by-election, and he won easily. Although the Conservatives had captured the most seats in the 1925 election, Mackenzie King refused to resign as Prime Minister, holding office for several months until he finally resigned when the Governor General, Lord Byng, refused a dissolution. Conservative Party leader Arthur Meighen became Prime Minister, but was immediately defeated in the House of Commons, and Byng finally granted a dissolution of Parliament. Diefenbaker, who had been confirmed as Conservative candidate, stood against Mackenzie King, a rare direct electoral contest between two Canadian Prime Ministers. Mackenzie King triumphed easily, and regained his position as Prime Minister.^[22]

[edit] Provincial politician (1929-1940)

Diefenbaker stood for the Legislative Assembly in the 1929 provincial election. He was defeated,^[23] but Saskatchewan Conservatives broke through and formed their first government, with help from smaller parties. As the defeated Conservative candidate for Prince Albert, he was given charge of political patronage in the town, and was created a King's Counsel.^[24] Three weeks after his electoral defeat, he married Saskatoon teacher Edna Brower.^[25]

Diefenbaker chose not to challenge Mackenzie King for the Prince Albert seat in the 1930 federal election, citing health reasons. Mackenzie King kept the seat, but lost his position as Prime Minister to Conservative leader R.B. Bennett.^[24] Diefenbaker continued a high-profile legal practice, and in 1933, ran for mayor of Prince Albert. He was defeated by 48 votes out of over 2,000 cast.^[26] Thirty years later, the winning candidate, H.J. Fraser, challenged Diefenbaker for his parliamentary seat, and was defeated by a 5-to-1 margin.^[27]

In 1934, when the Crown prosecutor for Prince Albert resigned to become the Conservative Party's legislative candidate, Diefenbaker took his place as prosecutor. Diefenbaker did not stand in the 1934 legislative elections, in which the governing Conservatives lost every seat. Six days after the election, Diefenbaker resigned as Crown prosecutor.^[28] Bennett's government was defeated the following year in the 1935 federal election and Mackenzie King returned as Prime Minister. Judging the prospects hopeless, Diefenbaker had declined a nomination to stand against Mackenzie King in Prince Albert again. In the dying days of the Bennett government, the president of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party was appointed as a judge, leaving Diefenbaker, who had been elected the party's vice president, as acting president of the provincial party.^[29]

Saskatchewan Conservatives finally arranged a leadership convention for 28 October 1936. Eleven names, including Diefenbaker's, were placed in nomination. Ten of the candidates deemed the provincial party in such hopeless shape that they withdrew, and Diefenbaker won the position by default. Diefenbaker asked the federal party for $10,000 in financial support, stating that he could guarantee that the Conservatives would win three or four seats in the Legislative Assembly if it were granted. The funds were refused, and the Conservatives were shut out of the legislature in the 1938 election for the second consecutive time. Diefenbaker himself was defeated in the Arm River riding by 190 votes.^[30] With the province-wide Conservative vote having fallen to 12%, Diefenbaker offered his resignation to a post-election party meeting in Moose Jaw, but it was refused. Diefenbaker continued to run the provincial party out of his law office, and paid the party's debts from his own pocket.^[31]

With a federal election due by 1940, Diefenbaker quietly sought the Conservative nomination for Lake Centre, but was unwilling to rick a divisive inter-party squabble over the nomination. He arranged to be invited to the nominating convention in Imperial in June 1939. In what Diefenbaker biographer Smith states "appears to have been an elaborate and prearranged charade", Diefenbaker withdrew when his name was placed in nomination, stating a local man should be nominated. The winner among the six remaining candidates, riding president W.B. Kelly, declined the nomination, urging the delegates to select Diefenbaker, which they promptly did.^[32] Mackenzie King called a general election for 25 March 1940.^[33] The incumbent in Lake Centre was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, John Frederick Johnston. Diefenbaker campaigned aggressively in Lake Centre, holding 63 rallies and seeking to appeal to members of all parties. On election day, he defeated Johnston by 280 votes on what was otherwise a disasterous day for the Conservatives, who won only 39 seats—their lowest total since Confederation.^[33]

[edit] Parliamentary rise (1940–1957)

[edit] Member of Parliament

Diefenbaker joined a shrunken and demoralized Conservative caucus in the House of Commons. The Conservative leader, Robert Manion, lost his seat in the election, which saw the Liberals take 181 seats.^[34] The Conservatives sought to be included in a wartime coalition government; but Mackenzie King refused. The House of Commons had but a slight role in the war effort; under the state of emergency, most business was accomplished through the Cabinet issuing orders-in-council^[35]

The new member for Lake Centre was appointed to the House Committee on the Defence of Canada Regulations, an all-party committee which examined the wartime rules which allowed arrest and detention without trial. On 13 June 1940, Diefenbaker made his maiden speech, supporting the regulations, but stating that most Canadians of German descent were loyal.^[36]

The Conservatives elected a floor leader, and in 1941 approached former Prime Minister Meighen, who had been elevated to the Senate by Bennett, about becoming party leader again. Meighen agreed, and resigned his Senate seat, but lost a by-election for an Ontario seat in the House of Commons.^[37]

Diefenbaker was first elected to the federal Parliament in the 1940 federal election representing the Lake Centre^[38] riding. He was one of only a handful of western Conservative MPs elected under the party's abortive National Government platform. He served as one of the few inspiring opposition parliamentarians during the party's long years in the political wilderness between 1935 and 1957. In 1952, he became Canada's delegate to the United Nations.

He was re-elected as an MP in 1953 serving the Prince Albert constituency.^[38]

[edit] Leader of the Opposition; 1957 election

Diefenbaker was a frequent leadership contestant in Progressive Conservative leadership conventions. In 1942, Diefenbaker lost to Manitoba Premier John Bracken. In 1948, Diefenbaker lost to Ontario Premier George Drew. Diefenbaker was not a favourite of the party establishment, who thought of him as a loose cannon and unfriendly to business. Diefenbaker finally won in 1956, the successor to George Drew who had tendered his resignation.^[39] While the contentious debate surrounding the Pipeline Debate and other signs of arrogance appeared in the Liberal government, few gave Diefenbaker any hope of winning an election against the popular Louis St. Laurent. John Diefenbaker was leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1956 till 1967.^[40]

Diefenbaker's opponents, many from the Ontario wing of the party, could find no one of comparable stature to stand against him, and when he won, reconciled themselves to his victory. After all, they concluded, Diefenbaker was now 61 and unlikely to lead the party for more than one general election—an election they believed would be won by the Liberals, most likely with a sixth successive majority.

[edit] Prime Minister (1957–1963)

[edit] Domestic events and policies

[edit] Minority government

When John Diefenbaker took office as Prime Minister of Canada on 21 June 1957, only one Progressive Conservative MP, Earl Rowe had served in government, for a brief period under Bennett in 1935. Rowe was no friend of Diefenbaker, and was given no place in his government.^[41] A number of factors gravitated against the Liberal Party remaining in power, ranging from controversial decisions involving the Pipeline Debate, the "time for a change" antipathy of the public, matched with Diefenbaker's fiery oratory and his populist message. These propelled the Conservatives to a narrow victory in the 1957 election, with a minority government. Though the Liberals had a slight lead in the popular vote, Louis St. Laurent resigned rather than attempt to form a coalition with the other opposition parties to continue governing.

With events going well, and the Conservatives leading in the polls, Diefenbaker wanted a new election, hopeful that his party would gain a majority of seats. It was then Canadian constitutional practice that the Governor General could refuse a dissolution early in a parliament's term, unless the government had been defeated in the House, or was winning votes by only a handful of votes. Diefenbaker sought a pretext for a new election.^[42]

Such an excuse presented itself when former Minister of External Affairs Lester Pearson took his place as Leader of the Opposition in the Commons on 20 January 1958, four days after becoming the Liberal leader. In his first speech as leader, Pearson (recently returned from Oslo where he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize), moved a vote of no confidence in the government, and called, not for an election, but for the Conservatives to surrender power to the Liberals without an election. Pearson stated that the poor economy required "a Government pledged to implement Liberal policies".^[43] Government MP's laughed at Pearson, as did members of the press who were present. Pearson later recorded in his memoirs that he knew that his "first attack on the government had been a failure, indeed a fiasco", and then he sat and watched as Diefenbaker "tore me to shreds".^[43] According to the Minister of Finance, Donald Fleming, "Pearson looked at first merry, then serious, then uncomfortable, then disturbed, and finally sick."^[44] Diefenbaker spoke for two hours and three minutes, and devastated his Liberal opposition. He mocked Pearson, contrasting the party leader's speech at the Liberal leadership convention to his speech to the House:

On Thursday there was shrieking defiance, on the Monday following there was shrinking indecision ... The only reason that this motion is worded as it is is that my honourable friends opposite quake when they think of what will happen if an election comes ...It is the resignation from responsibility of a great party.^[44]

Diefenbaker read from an internal report provided to the St. Laurent government in early 1957, warning that a recession was coming, and stated:

Across the way, Mr. Speaker, sit the purveyors of gloom who would endeavour for political purposes, to panic the Canadian people ... They had a warning ...Did they tell us that? No. Mr. Speaker, why did they not reveal this? Why did they not act when the house was sitting in January, February, March, and April? They had the information ...You concealed the facts, that is what you did.^[45]

Liberal frontbencher Paul Martin (whose son would later become Prime Minister), called Diefenbaker's response "one of the greatest devastating speeches" in Canadian history.^[46] Twelve days later, Diefenbaker asked the Governor General, Vincent Massey to dissolve Parliament because of Liberal obstructionism. Massey agreed, and Diefenbaker set an election date of 31 March 1958.^[46]

[edit] 1958 election

Diefenbaker wanted a majority, so he called a snap election. During the 1958 campaign, he ran on a message of building a "Canada of the North," increasing subsidies and development in the northern parts of the country, and on increasing social programs, which resonated effectively in English Canada. The biggest surprise was in Quebec, where the Union Nationale political machine was put into use for the Tories, enabling them to win the majority of seats in that province for the first time since John A. Macdonald. In the end, Diefenbaker won the largest majority government in Canadian history (in the 1984 election, Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives won more seats in absolute terms, but a smaller percentage of the overall membership of the house). 1958 saw the appointment of the first Aboriginal person to the Senate, James Gladstone.^[38]

However, as Peter C. Newman has written: "[He] came to the toughest job in the country without having worked for anyone but himself, without ever having hired or fired anyone, and without ever having administered anything more complicated than a walk-up law office." His first Commonwealth leaders meeting went over well, until he made an offer to the United Kingdom to bring 15% of Canada's trade with the United States to the UK. Since the proposal violated many international agreements, the UK instead proposed a Free Trade Agreement. Diefenbaker's Cabinet strongly recommended against it, and the 15% figure never came up again. Relations considerably cooled between the UK and Canada.

Diefenbaker soon ran into economic problems. With a recession already looming by the time he came in, increased deficits hurt the economic picture more. Diefenbaker blamed the tight money policies of the Liberals. At the same time, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, James Coyne heavily criticized the government's financial record, saying that the country was relying too much on exports to the United States and that a "tightening" was needed. The Government rejected his advice, and tried to get rid of Coyne for playing politics with his position, which in theory is independent of government interference. Diefenbaker stated that he considered Coyne as having the same status as any other Canadian civil servant.^[47] While the House of Commons passed a bill declaring Coyne's position vacant, the Liberal-controlled Canadian Senate rejected it. Nevertheless, Coyne resigned the next day. Having the Governor of the Bank of Canada criticizing the Government gave a feeling of chaos to international investors, which prompted many to withdraw capital from Canada. The ensuing crunch heavily limited economic growth.

Diefenbaker made what some believe to have been one of the most controversial policy decisions of the last century in Canada when his government cancelled the development and manufacture of the Avro CF-105 Arrow. The Arrow was a Mach 2 supersonic jet interceptor built by A.V. Roe Canada (Avro Canada), in Malton, Ontario to defend Canada in the event of a Soviet nuclear bomber attack from the north. During its production, the Canadian government purchased American-made Bomarc missiles as a means of bomber defence, leading to the cabinet decision to cancel the Avro Arrow and its Orenda Iroquois engine on February 20, 1959, forever known as "Black Friday" in Canadian industry. After cancelling the technologically advanced interceptor project, he obtained CF-101 Voodoo interceptors in 1961 from the United States.

Diefenbaker's hostility to the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was pronounced. During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Diefenbaker was annoyed at Kennedy's failure to consult him ahead of time, which led the Prime Minister to be skeptical of the seriousness of the situation. This caused him to react slowly on an American request to put Canadian forces on Defcon 3 status. The Minister of National Defence, Douglas Harkness, defied Diefenbaker by putting the military on high alert two days before Cabinet's decision to authorize the move.

Diefenbaker was also instrumental in bringing in the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960. This was the first attempt to articulate the basic rights of Canadian citizens in law. Because the Bill of Rights was an ordinary federal statute and not a part of the Canadian Constitution, it did not codify such rights in an enforceable way, since it could not be used by courts to nullify federal or provincial laws that contradicted it. An official commented: "It's great, unless you live in one of the provinces".^{[citation needed]} Thus, its effect on the decisions of the courts, unlike the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that would be created in 1982, was limited.

1960 saw the introduction of the Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act, one of the many improved social programs to help Canadians. He also appointed Ellen Fairclough the first woman Federal Cabinet Minister.^[38]

Support for the Tories declined in Quebec. Though Diefenbaker selected Georges Vanier as the first francophone Governor General, he did not appoint any Quebeckers to important cabinet posts. The Tories also did not have any long-lasting political machinery there, and the Union Nationale had been swept from power in 1960. As a result of the declining economic situation, apathy in Quebec, and negative fallout from cancelling the Avro Arrow program, the Progressive Conservatives lost their majority in the 1962 election.

Immediately afterward, Diefenbaker's minority government began a program to reduce government spending, and raise tariffs and bank interest rates. He then reorganized his Cabinet, moving Finance Minister Donald Fleming into the Minister of Justice portfolio, replacing him with George C. Nowlan.

In September 1962, Diefenbaker attended the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London, where he attacked Britain's prospective entry into the European Economic Community, stating it would be at the expense of Canada's increased economic dependence on the United States. Also at that meeting, he criticized South Africa's policy of apartheid, and successfully opposed its readmission into the Commonwealth after it declared itself a republic.^[48]

Diefenbaker's final term of office saw the escalation of a nuclear arms question brought on by the imported Bomarc missiles and the Voodoo aircraft that had replaced the Avro Arrow. Diefenbaker rejected American nuclear warheads being put in missiles, warplanes and ground-based tactical rockets. He used Congressional testimony about the Bomarc missiles to accuse Liberal leader Lester B. Pearson of making Canada a target for a nuclear war, and accused American media outlets and the US government of interfering with the election.^[49]

While Diefenbaker and his allies opposed the nuclear warheads, many other Tories and the opposition parties supported them, saying that the Bomarc missiles would be useless without the warheads. The already strained relationship within the Conservative party deteriorated faster, and a Cabinet split further undermined the government. Minister of National Defence Douglas Harkness resigned from Cabinet on February 4, 1963, because of Diefenbaker's opposition to accepting the missiles. The next day, the government lost two non-confidence motions on the issue, as the Social Credit Party and the New Democratic Party (the renamed CCF) withdrew their support of the government.

[edit] Later years (1963–1979)

[edit] Return to opposition

Diefenbaker lost the 1963 federal election to Lester Pearson and the Liberals, who formed a minority government. Nevertheless, he continued as PC Party leader, serving as Leader of the Opposition. In the 1964 Great Flag Debate, he led the unsuccessful opposition to the Maple Leaf flag (which he derided as the "Pearson Pennant"), arguing for the retention of the Canadian Red Ensign.

There were early calls for Diefenbaker's retirement, especially from the Bay Street wing of the party. At the February 1964 PC Convention, a secret ballot on his leadership was held. Diefenbaker held on by a very narrow margin. Diefenbaker was introduced to the convention by Joe Clark, president of the Student Federation, whose delegates were seen as the vote that tipped the balance. Clark described when he first saw Diefenbaker in High River, Alberta, and Diefenbaker's bravery at standing for the vote. Diefenbaker emotionally accepted the result, and said, "If there were no other rewards in public life than to have done what was stated by the brilliant Joe Clark, I would have been rewarded more than I could hope for."

To the surprise of many, he ran an aggressive, nationalistic campaign in the 1965 election, which Pearson had called in the expectation that the Liberals would win a majority; the Liberals fell four seats short of this. Growing dissatisfaction with his leadership, however, led to open dissension within the party, headed by Party president Dalton Camp. There was a fear within the party that even though ditching Diefenbaker would probably improve Eastern results, they might lose the Western seats Diefenbaker brought to the party.

Anti-Diefenbaker efforts by Camp and others resulted in a leadership review, a measure for which there was no provision in the party's constitution. The Progressive Conservatives called a leadership convention in 1967. Although Diefenbaker entered at the last minute to stand as a candidate for the leadership, against the proposed Deux Nations policy, he was defeated by Nova Scotia Premier Robert Stanfield. His exit was considered the most emotional moment of the convention.

[edit] Final years

Diefenbaker retained his parliamentary seat for the next twelve years until his death, while also serving as the chancellor at the University of Saskatchewan beginning in 1969.^[50]

After he left the Tory leadership, Diefenbaker persisted in fighting old battles in parliamentary circles, and was a thorn in the side of Stanfield.^[51] The opening night of the 1976 Tory leadership convention in Ottawa was a tribute in his honour, and he made a passionate speech which met with sustained applause. He was a favourite of the Press Gallery, and frequently made snide remarks about other Conservatives. This reached a head in 1979, when he joked that Canada had celebrated the International Year of the Child by electing Joe Clark, who as a student had defended Diefenbaker.

[edit] Death

Diefenbaker died on August 16, 1979, from heart failure^[39] in Ottawa, Ontario. In accordance with his funeral plans, his body was shipped from Ottawa to Saskatoon by train for burial. Thousands of Canadians lined the tracks and more watched on television to bid farewell to "Dief" before he was buried beside the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. In his will, he had a special ceremony in place, so that the Maple Leaf flag was draped on his casket first, and then the Red Ensign that he had defended so intensely in Parliament was laid over it. His state funeral was carried out as he had planned years earlier.

The funeral was presided over by the short-lived government of Prime Minister Joe Clark, a fellow Tory. During the burial services, Clark took part in eulogizing Diefenbaker, only days after Diefenbaker had delivered insults against Clark to the press. Years later, in a February 4, 2006 Globe and Mail newspaper article, as part of an ongoing series on Canadian prime ministers, Clark delivered a frank but heartfelt review of the Diefenbaker legacy, calling him a people's "advocate."^[52]

[edit] Legacy

Diefenbaker's legacy remains a controversial one. During his tenure, economically, the country fared poorly, but this could be ascribed to conditions elsewhere. However, his love for the "common man" and his near-universal stand for human rights seem to shed a more positive light: for example, he was one of the few dissenters in the internment of Japanese Canadians, led the fight against apartheid South Africa being in the Commonwealth, and extended the right to vote to status Indians.

Diefenbaker's populism raised the popularity of the Progressive Conservatives in the Western provinces, and the West became a PC and Conservative mainstay for the next half-century.

His decision to oppose nuclear warheads on the Bomarc missiles was supported by a young journalist Pierre Trudeau. When Trudeau succeeded Lester B. Pearson as prime minister and Liberal leader in 1968, he announced that the missiles would be phased out by 1971.

Between 1993 and 2003, Diefenbaker was frequently touted as a "spiritual father" of the values espoused by the then-beleaguered PC Party and its membership. In his 2000 book, In Defence of Civility, Tory strategist and former PC leadership candidate, Senator Hugh Segal noted that Diefenbaker "defined Progressive Conservatism as the ultimate balance for free enterprise, profit-making and economic growth on the one hand, and social justice and respect for the interests of the common man on the other." Many Red Tory PCs, such as David Orchard and Heward Grafftey, who were not enamoured of the more recent PC Prime Ministerships of Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, frequently referenced their own political traditions, values and stances to the Diefenbaker era. Ironically, in his memoirs, Diefenbaker stated that he preferred the name "Conservative" to "Progressive Conservative." Diefenbaker was also noted for his opposition to official bilingualism, which placed him at odds with the more progressive element of his party.

Ultimately, his legacy to many Canadians is as the man who killed the Avro Arrow. While Diefenbaker's long political career was filled with many difficult controversies, many believe he kept a high personal ethical standard, and was never caught in personal wrongdoing of any form.

Diefenbaker was ranked #13 on a list of the first 20 Prime Ministers (through Jean Chrétien) conducted by a survey of Canadian historians. The survey was included in the book Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.

[edit] Supreme Court appointments

Diefenbaker chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:

• Ronald Martland (January 15, 1958 – February 10, 1982)
• Wilfred Judson (February 5, 1958 – July 20, 1977)
• Roland Almon Ritchie (May 5, 1959 – October 31, 1984)
• Emmett Matthew Hall (November 23, 1962 – March 1, 1973)

[edit] Honours

• Lake Diefenbaker is named for the late prime minister. It is a reservoir on the South Saskatchewan River created following the construction of the Gardiner Dam which gained support from the Prime Minister.^[49]
• Saskatoon's airport is named John G. Diefenbaker International Airport in his honour. A display depicting his life and career is found in the departure area of the terminal.
• The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Centre for the Study of Canada (popularly known as the Diefenbaker Canada Centre) on the University of Saskatchewan campus is a museum and archives dedicated to the late John Diefenbaker. It contains virtually all of Diefenbaker's chattels, which he willed to the University. Included are his personal effects, personal, legal and Prime Ministerial Papers, photographs, and audio-visual material.
• 2007: A British Columbia mountain near Valemount was named Mount John Diefenbaker. After the naming proposal was accepted, it was discovered that Diefenbaker had had an earlier connection with the mountain. In November 1950, a telegraph operator was charged with manslaughter following a collision between a passenger train and a military transport train that killed 21 men. Diefenbaker's wife insisted he take the case and, at great personal expense, he managed to clear the telegraph operator.^[53][54]
• Diefenbaker Drive in Saskatoon's west end and Diefenbaker Park on the city's east side have been named in Mr. Diefenbaker's honour.
• The southeast corner of 21st Street E. and 1st Ave. S. in downtown Saskatoon was dedicated as Diefenbaker Corner by the City of Saskatoon in the 1970s. According to legend, it was on this spot where Diefenbaker, selling newspapers as a boy, met Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier during Laurier's visit to the city. A statue commemorating this event was installed at the site.
• John Diefenbaker Secondary School High school is in Hanover, Ontario.
• John George Diefenbaker Public School at 70 Dean Park Road in Scarborough, Ontario is named after the former prime minister.
• John Diefenbaker Public School in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is also named after the former prime minister.
• Diefenbaker Park is located in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, south of Vancouver. As one of the largest parks in the area, many public celebrations, such as Canada Day are celebrated there. It is located on 1st Avenue adjacent to 56th Street.
• John G. Diefenbaker High School in northwest Calgary is named in honour of John G. Diefenbaker.
• John G. Diefenbaker Elementary School in Richmond, British Columbia is named after the former prime minister.
• Diefenbaker Elementary School, formerly Plains Road Public School, at 175 Plains Road in Toronto, ON was named after the former prime minister in 1976.^[55] Diefenbaker had attended the school as a child while his father was principal.^[56]
• Diefenbaker House in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is a former official residence and now museum
• The emergency retreat for the Canadian government built during the Cold War in case of nuclear attack is jocularly known as the "Diefenbunker".
• CCG Polar Class icebreaker to be named CCGS John Diefenbaker

[edit] See also

• Diefenbaker House

[edit] References

Notes

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Diefenbaker

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
• Diefenbaker Homestead
• CBC Digital Archives – Dief the Chief
• 1960 Commencement Address at DePauw University
• Canadian Parliamentary Review Article
• TIME Magazine cover, John Diefenbaker, Aug. 5, 1957

Party political offices
Preceded by James T. M. Anderson	Leader of the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan 1936–1940	Succeeded by H. E. Keown
Preceded by George Drew	Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party 1956–1967	Succeeded by Robert Stanfield
Government offices
Preceded by George Drew	Leader of the Opposition 1956-1957	Succeeded by Louis St. Laurent
Preceded by Louis St. Laurent	Prime Minister of Canada 1957–1963	Succeeded by Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by Lester B. Pearson	Secretary of State for External Affairs 1957	Succeeded by Sidney Earle Smith
Preceded by Sidney Earle Smith	Secretary of State for External Affairs (acting) 1959	Succeeded by Howard Green
Preceded by Noël Dorion	President of the Privy Council 1962-1963	Succeeded by Maurice Lamontagne
Preceded by Lester B. Pearson	Leader of the Opposition 1963-1967	Succeeded by Robert Stanfield
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by John Frederick Johnson	MP for Lake Centre, SK 1940–1953	Succeeded by Abolished
Preceded by Francis Helme	MP for Prince Albert, SK 1953–1979	Succeeded by Stan Hovdebo
Academic offices
Preceded by E. M. Culliton	Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan 1969–1979	Succeeded by Emmett Matthew Hall

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Persondata
NAME	Diefenbaker, John George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	13th Prime Minister of Canada (1957-1963)
DATE OF BIRTH	September 18, 1895(1895-09-18)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Neustadt, Ontario
DATE OF DEATH	August 16, 1979
PLACE OF DEATH	Ottawa