Editing John Diefenbaker (section)

== Parliamentary rise (1940–1957) ==

=== Mackenzie King years (1940–1948) ===
Diefenbaker joined a shrunken and demoralized Conservative caucus in the House of Commons. The Conservative leader, [[Robert Manion]], failed to win a place in the Commons in the election, which saw the Liberals take 181 seats.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=109}} The Tories sought to be included in a wartime coalition government, but Mackenzie King refused. The House of Commons had only a slight role in [[World War II|the war]] effort; under the state of emergency, most business was accomplished through the Cabinet issuing [[Orders in Council]].{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=116}}

Diefenbaker 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 June 13, 1940, Diefenbaker made his [[maiden speech]] in the House of Commons, supporting the regulations, and emphatically stating that most Canadians of German descent were loyal.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=114–115}} In his memoirs, Diefenbaker wrote he waged an unsuccessful fight against the forced relocation and [[Japanese Canadian internment|internment of many Japanese-Canadians]], but historians say that the fight against the internment never took place.{{sfn|Diefenbaker|1975|pp=223–224}}{{sfn|Bliss|2004|pp=194–195}}

According to Diefenbaker's biographer, Denis Smith, the Conservative MP quietly admired Mackenzie King for his political skills.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=120–122}} However, Diefenbaker proved a [[gadfly (social)|gadfly]] and an annoyance to Mackenzie King. Angered by the words of Diefenbaker and fellow Conservative MP [[Howard Charles Green|Howard Green]] in seeking to censure the government, the Prime Minister referred to Conservative MPs as "a mob".{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=120–122}} When Diefenbaker accompanied two other Conservative leaders to a briefing by Mackenzie King on [[World War II|the war]], the Prime Minister exploded at Diefenbaker (a constituent of his), "What business do you have to be here? You strike me to the heart every time you speak."{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=120–122}}

The Conservatives elected a [[floor leader]], and in 1941 approached former prime minister Meighen, who had been appointed as a senator 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.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=125}} He remained as leader for several months, although he could not enter the chamber of the House of Commons. Meighen sought to move the Tories to the left, in order to undercut the Liberals and to take support away from the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF, the predecessor of the [[New Democratic Party]] (NDP)). To that end, he sought to draft the [[Liberal-Progressive#Manitoba|Liberal-Progressive]] premier of [[Manitoba]], [[John Bracken]], to lead the Conservatives. Diefenbaker objected to what he saw as an attempt to rig the party's choice of new leader{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=128–129}} and stood for the leadership himself at the [[Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1942|party's 1942 leadership convention]].{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=130}} Bracken was elected on the second ballot; Diefenbaker finished a distant third in both polls. At Bracken's request, the convention changed the party's name to "Progressive Conservative Party of Canada."{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=131–134}} Bracken chose not to seek entry to the House through a by-election, and when the Conservatives elected a new floor leader, Diefenbaker was defeated by one vote.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=135–136}}

Bracken was elected to the Commons in the [[1945 Canadian federal election|1945 general election]], and for the first time in five years the Tories had their party leader in the House of Commons. The Progressive Conservatives won 67 seats to the Liberals' 125, with smaller parties and independents winning 52 seats. Diefenbaker increased his majority to over 1,000 votes, and had the satisfaction of seeing Mackenzie King defeated in Prince Albert—albeit by a CCF candidate. The Prime Minister was returned in an Ontario by-election within months.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=155}}

Diefenbaker staked out a position on the populist left of the PC party. Though most Canadians were content to look to Parliament for protection of [[civil liberties]], Diefenbaker called for a Bill of Rights, calling it "the only way to stop the march on the part of the government towards arbitrary power".{{sfn|Bliss|2004|pp=194–195}} He objected to the great powers used by the Mackenzie King government to attempt to root out Soviet spies after the war, such as imprisonment without trial, and complained about the government's proclivity for letting its wartime powers become permanent.{{sfn|Bliss|2004|pp=194–195}}

=== Leadership contender (1948–1956) ===
{{For|further information on one of Diefenbaker's major legal cases during this time|Canoe River train crash}}
[[File:Johndiefenbaker.jpg|thumb|alt=Diefenbaker, standing in a legislative chamber, dramatically points in front of him. His hair is greying, and he appears much the way he will as Prime Minister.|Diefenbaker makes his point in the House of Commons, 1948]]

In early 1948, Mackenzie King, now aged 73, announced his retirement; later that year [[Louis St. Laurent]] succeeded him. Although Bracken had nearly doubled the Tory representation in the House, prominent Tories were increasingly unhappy with his leadership and pressured him to stand down. These party bosses believed that Ontario Premier [[George A. Drew]], who had won three successive provincial elections and had even made inroads in [[Francophone Canadian|francophone]] ridings, was the man to lead the Progressive Conservatives to victory. When Bracken resigned on July 17, 1948, Diefenbaker announced his candidacy. The party's backers, principally financiers headquartered on Toronto's [[Bay Street]], preferred Drew's conservative political stances to Diefenbaker's Western populism.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=166–167}} Tory leaders packed the [[Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1948|1948 leadership convention]] in [[Ottawa]] in favour of Drew, appointing more than 300 delegates [[at-large]]. One cynical party member commented, "Ghost delegates with ghost ballots, marked by the ghostly hidden hand of Bay Street, are going to pick George Drew, and he'll deliver a ghost-written speech that'll cheer us all up, as we march briskly into a political graveyard."{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=28}} Drew easily defeated Diefenbaker on the first ballot. St. Laurent called [[1949 Canadian federal election|an election for June 1949]], and the Tories were decimated, falling to 41 seats, only two more than the party's 1940 nadir.{{sfn|Newman|1963|pp=29–30}} Despite intense efforts to make the Progressive Conservatives appeal to Quebecers, the party won only two seats in the province.{{sfn|Diefenbaker|1975|pp=268–269}}

Newman argued that but for Diefenbaker's many defeats, he would never have become prime minister:

<blockquote>If, as a neophyte lawyer, he had succeeded in winning the Prince Albert seat in the federal elections of 1925 or 1926,&nbsp;... Diefenbaker would probably have been remembered only as an obscure minister in Bennett's Depression cabinet&nbsp;... If he had carried his home-town mayoralty in 1933,&nbsp;... he'd probably not be remembered at all&nbsp;... If he had succeeded in his bid for the national leadership in 1942, he might have taken the place of John Bracken on his six-year march to oblivion as leader of a party that had not changed itself enough to follow a Prairie radical&nbsp;... <nowiki>[If he had defeated Drew in 1948, he]</nowiki> would have been free to flounder before the political strength of Louis St. Laurent in the 1949 and 1953 campaigns.{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=5}}</blockquote>

The governing Liberals repeatedly attempted to draw Diefenbaker's seat out from under him. In 1948, Lake Centre was redistricted to remove areas which strongly supported Diefenbaker. In spite of that, he was returned in the 1949 election, the only PC member from Saskatchewan. In 1952, a redistricting committee dominated by Liberals abolished Lake Centre entirely, dividing its voters among three other ridings.{{sfn|Newman|1963|pp=29–30}} Diefenbaker stated in his memoirs that he had considered retiring from the House; with Drew only a year older than he was, the Westerner saw little prospect of advancement and had received tempting offers from Ontario law firms. However, the [[gerrymandering]] so angered him that he decided to fight for a seat.{{sfn|Diefenbaker|1975|pp=271–272}} Diefenbaker's party had taken Prince Albert only once, in 1911, but he decided to stand in that riding for the [[1953 Canadian federal election|1953 election]] and was successful.{{sfn|Newman|1963|pp=29–30}} He would hold that seat for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=573–574}} Even though Diefenbaker campaigned nationally for party candidates, the Progressive Conservatives gained little, rising to 51 seats as St. Laurent led the Liberals to a fifth successive majority.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=195}} In addition to trying to secure his departure from Parliament, the government opened a home for unwed Indian mothers next door to [[Diefenbaker House|Diefenbaker's home]] in Prince Albert.{{sfn|Newman|1963|pp=29–30}}

Diefenbaker continued practising law. In 1951, he gained national attention by accepting the ''Atherton'' case, in which a young telegraph operator had been accused of negligently causing [[Canoe River train crash|a train crash]] by omitting crucial information from a message. Twenty-one people were killed, mostly Canadian troops bound for Korea. Diefenbaker paid $1,500 and sat a token [[bar exam]]ination to join the [[Law Society of British Columbia]] to take the case, and gained an acquittal, prejudicing the jury against the Crown prosecutor and pointing out a previous case in which interference had caused information to be lost in transmission.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=185–189}}

In the mid-1940s Edna began to suffer mental illness and was placed in a private psychiatric hospital for a time. She later fell ill from [[leukemia]] and died in 1951. In 1953, Diefenbaker married [[Olive Freeman|Olive Palmer]] (formerly Olive Freeman), whom he had courted while living in Wakaw. Olive Diefenbaker became a great source of strength to her husband. There were no children born of either marriage.{{sfn|Bliss|2004|p=202}} In 2013, claims were made that he fathered at least two sons out of wedlock, based a DNA test which, according to the test conductor, a 99.99% chance that the two individuals were related, with no other known commonality between them other than that Diefenbaker employed both mothers.{{sfn|Perkel|2013}}

Diefenbaker won Prince Albert in 1953, even as the Tories suffered a second consecutive disastrous defeat under Drew. Speculation arose in the press that the leader might be pressured to step aside. Drew was determined to remain, however, and Diefenbaker was careful to avoid any action that might be seen as disloyal. However, Diefenbaker was never a member of the "Five O'clock<!-- Capitalized in source! --> Club" of Drew intimates who met the leader in his office for a drink and gossip each day.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=199}}{{efn|name=One Canada}} By 1955, there was a widespread feeling among Tories that Drew was not capable of leading the party to a victory. At the same time, the Liberals were in flux as the aging St. Laurent tired of politics.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=200}} Drew was able to damage the government in a weeks-long battle over the [[TransCanada pipeline]] in 1956—the so-called [[Pipeline Debate]]—in which the government, in a hurry to obtain financing for the pipeline, imposed [[cloture|closure]] before the debate even began. The Tories and the CCF combined to obstruct business in the House for weeks before the Liberals were finally able to pass the measure. Diefenbaker played a relatively minor role in the Pipeline Debate, speaking only once.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=201–203}}
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=== Leader of the Opposition; 1957 election ===
{{main|1957 Canadian federal election}}

By 1956, the [[Social Credit Party of Canada|Social Credit Party]] was becoming a potential rival to the Tories as Canada's main right-wing party.{{sfn|Meisel|1962|pp=17–18}} Canadian journalist and author [[Bruce Hutchison]] discussed the state of the Tories in 1956:

<blockquote>When a party calling itself Conservative can think of nothing better than to outbid the Government's election promises; when it demands economy in one breath and increased spending in the next; when it proposes an immediate tax cut regardless of inflationary results&nbsp;... when in short, the Conservative party no longer gives us a conservative alternative after twenty-one years&nbsp;... then our political system desperately requires an opposition prepared to stand for something more than the improbable chance of quick victory.{{sfn|Meisel|1962|p=16}}</blockquote>

In August 1956, Drew fell ill and many within the party urged him to step aside, feeling that the Progressive Conservatives needed vigorous leadership with an election likely within a year. He resigned in late September, and Diefenbaker immediately announced his candidacy for the leadership.{{sfn|Bliss|2004|p=188}} A number of Progressive Conservative leaders, principally from the Ontario wing of the party, started a "Stop Diefenbaker" movement, and wooed [[University of Toronto]] president [[Sidney Earle Smith|Sidney Smith]] as a possible candidate. When Smith declined,{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=203–204}} they could find no one of comparable stature to stand against Diefenbaker. The only serious competition to Diefenbaker came from [[Donald Fleming]], who had finished third at the previous leadership convention, but his having repeatedly criticised Drew's leadership ensured that the critical Ontario delegates would not back Fleming, all but destroying his chances of victory. At the [[Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1956|leadership convention in Ottawa in December 1956]], Diefenbaker won on the first ballot, and the dissidents reconciled themselves to his victory. After all, they reasoned, 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 regardless of who led the Tories.{{sfn|Bliss|2004|p=188}}

In January 1957, Diefenbaker took his place as [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Official Opposition]]. In February, St. Laurent informed him that Parliament would be dissolved in April for an [[1957 Canadian federal election|election on June 10]]. The Liberals submitted a budget in March; Diefenbaker attacked it for overly high taxes, failure to assist pensioners, and a lack of aid for the poorer provinces.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=217–218}} Parliament was dissolved on April 12.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=224}} St. Laurent was so confident of victory that he did not even bother to make recommendations to the Governor General to fill the 16 vacancies in the Senate.{{sfn|English|1992|p=185}}{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=53}}

Diefenbaker ran on a platform which concentrated on changes in domestic policies. He pledged to work with the provinces to reform the Senate. He proposed a vigorous new agricultural policy, seeking to stabilize income for farmers. He sought to reduce dependence on trade with the United States, and to seek closer ties with the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=52}} St. Laurent called the Tory platform "a mere cream-puff of a thing—with more air than substance".{{sfn|Meisel|1962|p=158}} Diefenbaker and the PC party used television adroitly, whereas St. Laurent stated that he was more interested in seeing people than in talking to cameras.{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=54}} Though the Liberals outspent the Progressive Conservatives three to one, according to Newman, their campaign had little imagination, and was based on telling voters that their only real option was to re-elect St. Laurent.{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=53}}

Diefenbaker characterized the Tory program in a nationwide telecast on April 30:

<blockquote>It is a program&nbsp;... for a united Canada, for one Canada, for Canada first, in every aspect of our political and public life, for the welfare of the average man and woman. That is my approach to public affairs and has been throughout my life&nbsp;... A Canada, united from Coast to Coast,<!-- caps in original --> wherein there will be freedom for the individual, freedom of enterprise and where there will be a Government which, in all its actions, will remain the servant and not the master of the people.{{sfn|Meisel|1962|p=286}}</blockquote>

The final Gallup poll before the election showed the Liberals ahead, 48% to 34%.{{sfn|Smith|1995|p=235}} Just before the election, ''[[Maclean's]]'' magazine printed its regular weekly issue, to go on sale the morning after the vote, editorializing that democracy in Canada was still strong despite a sixth consecutive Liberal victory.{{sfn|Newman|1963|pp=57–58}} On election night, the Progressive Conservative advance started early, with the gain of two seats in reliably Liberal [[Newfoundland]].{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=56}} The party picked up nine seats in [[Nova Scotia]], five in Quebec, 28 in Ontario, and at least one seat in every other province. The Progressive Conservatives took 112 seats to the Liberals' 105: a plurality, but not a majority.{{efn|name=1957 seats}} While the Liberals finished some 200,000 votes ahead of the Tories nationally, that margin was mostly wasted in overwhelming victories in safe Quebec seats. St. Laurent could have attempted to form a government, however, with the minor parties pledging to cooperate with the Progressive Conservatives, he would have likely faced a quick defeat at the Commons.{{sfn|Newman|1963|p=58}} St. Laurent instead resigned, making Diefenbaker prime minister.{{sfn|Smith|1995|pp=238–240}}