Fonds F1843 - John George Diefenbaker fonds

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.