Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
John George Diefenbaker fonds
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Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Edition area
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
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Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1888-1979 (Creation)
- Creator
- Diefenbaker, John George
Physical description area
Physical description
370 microfilm reels
Publisher's series area
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979) was born in Neustadt, Ontario. In 1903 the family moved to a homestead in the Fort Carlton area of the Northwest Territories but eventually settled in Saskatoon in 1910. John studied at the University of Saskatchewan receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree (1915), Master of Arts (1916) and Bachelor of Law (1919). He enlisted in 1916 and served in England until 1917. He established his first law practice in Prince Albert in 1924 and continued to practice law until 1957.
John Diefenbaker first entered politics in 1917. From 1936 to 1941 he served as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal-Conservative Party and in 1940 was elected to the federal government as a member for the Lake Centre riding. From 1953 he represented the Prince Albert riding. On 14 December, 1956, Diefenbaker was selected as leader of the Conservative Party and he became Prime Minister in 1957. His government was defeated in the 1963 federal election and thereafter he served as Leader of the Opposition until his defeat in 1967. he continued to represent the Prince Albert riding until his death in 1979.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds documents the life and career of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker. The fonds includes records relating to both of Diefenbaker's careers; that of a respected defence lawyer and as Canada's thirteenth prime minister. The fonds provides information on all aspects of Diefenbaker's political career, including his work within the Conservative Party, as a Member of Parliament, Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister. These political records document policy development, program initiatives, such as northern development and the Bill of Rights, as well as international affairs, the cold war and government scandals. The fonds contains extensive records pertaining to Diefenbaker's personal life, and that of his family. Olive Diefenbaker's life as a political wife is also well documented. Diefenbaker's strong desire to preserve material relating to his personal history and that of his family has resulted in a comprehensive set of family papers. In addition to records about the 'Chief', the fonds contains a great deal about life in western Canada, particularly Saskatchewan, in the first half of the twentieth century. For example, Diefenbaker's legal records offer insight into the activities of a small town, prairie lawyer in the 1920s and 1930s. The Saskatchewan political scene is captured in these records, and much of the family correspondence depicts the lives of ordinary Canadians trying to build a life on the prairies. Aforementioned textual records have been divided into the following series: Legal series; Pre-1940 series; 1940-1956 series; Leader of the Official Opposition; Family series; Prime Minister's Office: Numbered files, 1957-1963; Reference series, 1957-1967; and PMO unnumbered correspondence series.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Microfilm purchase made possible through the generous assistance of the Chancellor Richardson Memorial Fund.
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
MF 4847-5133
MF 5239-5318
MF 6097-6275
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Open
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Queen's University Archives provides this material for personal study only. It does not provide research services for this material. Permission to publish must be obtained from the National Archives of Canada.
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Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected