John Diefenbaker

John Diefenbaker
Diefenbaker in 1957
13th Prime Minister of Canada
In office
June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors General
Preceded byLouis St. Laurent
Succeeded byLester B. Pearson
Leader of the Opposition
In office
April 22, 1963 – September 8, 1967
Preceded byLester B. Pearson
Succeeded byMichael Starr
In office
December 14, 1956 – June 20, 1957
Preceded byWilliam Earl Rowe
Succeeded byLouis St. Laurent
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
In office
December 14, 1956 – September 9, 1967
Preceded byWilliam Earl Rowe (interim)
Succeeded byRobert Stanfield
Secretary of State for External Affairs
In office
June 21, 1957 – September 12, 1957
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byLester B. Pearson
Succeeded bySidney Earle Smith
Member of Parliament
for Prince Albert
In office
August 10, 1953 – August 16, 1979
Preceded byFrancis Helme
Succeeded byStan Hovdebo
Member of Parliament
for Lake Centre
In office
March 26, 1940 – August 10, 1953
Preceded byJohn Frederick Johnston
Succeeded byRiding abolished
Personal details
Born
John George Diefenbaker

(1895-09-18)September 18, 1895
Neustadt, Ontario, Canada
DiedAugust 16, 1979(1979-08-16) (aged 83)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeOutside Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouses
(m. 1929; died 1951)
(m. 1953; died 1976)
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan (BA, MA, LLB)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer
SignatureA scrawled "J Diefenbaker"
Military service
AllegianceCanada
Branch/serviceCanadian Expeditionary Force
Years of service1916–1917
RankLieutenant
Unit196th Battalion
Battles/warsWorld War I
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John George Diefenbaker PC CH QC FRSC FRSA (/ˈdfənbkər/ DEE-fən-bay-kər; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was a Canadian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Canada, from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative[a] party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of the seats in the House of Commons.

Diefenbaker was born in the small town of Neustadt in Southwestern Ontario. In 1903, his family migrated west to the portion of the North-West Territories that would soon become the province of Saskatchewan. He grew up in the province and was interested in politics from a young age. After service in World War I, Diefenbaker became a noted criminal defence lawyer. He contested elections through the 1920s and 1930s with little success until he was finally elected to the House of Commons in 1940.

Diefenbaker was repeatedly a candidate for the party leadership. He gained that position in 1956, on his third attempt. In 1957, he led the party to its first electoral victory in 27 years; a year later he called a snap election and spearheaded them to one of their greatest triumphs. Diefenbaker appointed the first female minister in Canadian history to his cabinet (Ellen Fairclough), as well as the first Indigenous member of the Senate (James Gladstone). During his six years as prime minister, his government obtained passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights and granted the vote to the First Nations and Inuit peoples. In 1962, Diefenbaker's government eliminated racial discrimination in immigration policy. In foreign policy, his stance against apartheid helped secure the departure of South Africa from the Commonwealth of Nations, but his indecision on whether to accept Bomarc nuclear missiles from the United States led to his government's downfall. Diefenbaker is also remembered for his role in the 1959 cancellation of the Avro Arrow project.

In the 1962 federal election, the Progressive Conservatives narrowly won a minority government before losing power altogether in 1963. Diefenbaker stayed on as party leader, becoming Opposition leader, but his second loss at the polls prompted opponents within the party to force him to a leadership convention in 1967. Diefenbaker stood for re-election as party leader at the last moment, but attracted only minimal support and withdrew. He remained in parliament until his death in 1979, two months after Joe Clark became the first Progressive Conservative prime minister since Diefenbaker. Diefenbaker ranks average in rankings of prime ministers of Canada.
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