John Diefenbaker

The Right Honourable John Diefenbaker PC CH QC FRSC
Diefenbaker in 1957
13th Prime Minister of Canada
In office June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governors General	Vincent Massey Georges Vanier
Preceded by	Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by	Lester B. Pearson
Leader of the Opposition
In office April 22, 1963 – September 8, 1967
Preceded by	Lester B. Pearson
Succeeded by	Michael Starr
In office December 14, 1956 – June 20, 1957
Preceded by	William Earl Rowe
Succeeded by	Louis St. Laurent
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
In office December 14, 1956 – September 9, 1967
Preceded by	William Earl Rowe (interim)
Succeeded by	Robert Stanfield
Secretary of State for External Affairs
In office June 21, 1957 – September 12, 1957
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Lester B. Pearson
Succeeded by	Sidney Earle Smith
Member of Parliament for Prince Albert
In office August 10, 1953 – August 16, 1979
Preceded by	Francis Helme
Succeeded by	Stan Hovdebo
Member of Parliament for Lake Centre
In office March 26, 1940 – August 10, 1953
Preceded by	John Frederick Johnston
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Personal details
Born	John George Diefenbaker (1895-09-18)September 18, 1895 Neustadt, Ontario, Canada
Died	August 16, 1979(1979-08-16) (aged 83) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Resting place	Outside Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouses	Edna Brower ​ ​ (m. 1929; died 1951)​ Olive Palmer ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 1976)​
Alma mater	University of Saskatchewan (BA, MA, LLB)
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Expeditionary Force
Years of service	1916–1917
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	196th Battalion
Battles/wars	World War I
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John George Diefenbaker PC CH QC FRSC (/ˈdiːfənbeɪkər/ DEE-fən-bay-kər; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving 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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