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Archival description
John G. Diefenbaker fonds Series
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I. Legal Series

John Diefenbaker entered the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 1916, and was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in June, 1919. Upon graduating he opened a private practice in Wakaw, Saskatchewan and carried on a busy practice until 1924 when he moved to Prince Albert. The Wakaw office was managed by a succession of partners until its closure in 1929. Diefenbaker worked privately and in partnership until the early 1940s when he established a partnership with John Cuelenaere. They were joined by Roy Hall in 1947 and by Clyne Harradence in 1955. After his election to the House of Commons in 1940, legal material was forwarded to Ottawa. This arrangement continued until 1956 when he was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, and he thus gave up his legal practice. Diefenbaker became a King’s Counsel in 1929, and was also a member of the Bars of Alberta, British Columbia and Upper Canada.

This series contains those papers accumulated by John Diefenbaker in the course of his legal practice, although records are incomplete.

II. Pre 1940 Series

This series contains the records of John Diefenbaker’s personal and political activities before his election to Parliament in May 1940, excluding his legal papers (MG 01/I Legal Series) and his family correspondence (MG 01/V Legal Series). There is material about his education at the University of Saskatchewan and his military career during the First World War. There is a large section on the Saskatchewan provincial Conservative Party which he led from 1936 to 1939. This series also contains transcripts of the Bryant Commission Inquiry into jails and provincial police for which Diefenbaker served as legal counsel. Diefenbaker received many requests for assistance from members of the general public which provide information about the wide range of political, social and financial problems Saskatchewan experienced in the 1920s and 1930s.

III. 1940-1956 Series

This series includes the papers generated and accumulated by Diefenbaker from March 1940 to December 1956, excluding his legal papers (MG 01/I Legal Series) and his family correspondence (MG 01/V Family Series). In addition to the four subseries there are files on political and other topics.

IV. Leader of the Opposition, Dec. 1956 - June 1957 Series

This series contains Diefenbaker’s papers for the six month period of his first term as Leader of the Opposition. Although Diefenbaker outpolled Donald Fleming and Davie Fulton after the first ballot, his rise to prominence had not been without its setbacks. This was his third try for the opposition which had escaped his grasp in 1942 and 1948. This series consists largely of post-convention correspondence and election material, but there are also files about headquarters organization, the appointment of advisors, and current political events such as the release of the report of the Gordon Commission on Canada’s Economic Prospects.

V. Family Series

John Diefenbaker (1895-1979) and his brother, Elmer (1897-1971), were born in Ontario. Their parents, William T. Diefenbaker (1868-1945) and Mary Florence nee Bannerman (1872-1961), brought them to Saskatchewan in 1903 to homestead in the Prince Albert region. They were followed by William’s brother, Edward (1875-1960), who took up the neighbouring homestead. John married Edna Brower (1899-1951) in 1929; following her death, he married Olive Freeman Palmer (1902-1975) in 1953. John had no children, but his step-daughter, Carolyn Weir (1934- ), has several children. As the last survivor of his immediate family, John Diefenbaker inherited their papers, providing researchers with an opportunity to study both sides of the family correspondence. Olive Diefenbaker’s correspondence exceeds 13,000 pages, making it one of the largest collections of any Canadian political wife.

VI. Prime Minister's Office Numbered Correspondence Series

This series contains John Diefenbaker’s correspondence while Prime Minister, both incoming and outgoing, filed by his office staff. It contains correspondence with cabinet members, the Civil Service, other politicians, foreign leaders, personal friends and advisors, and the general public, all arranged in the same series of subject files. The topics covered include almost all the political and social questions of the period.

VII. Reference Series, 1957-1967

This series contains reference material collected by Diefenbaker and his office staff while Prime Minister and during his second term as Leader of the Opposition. It includes correspondence, reports, speech notes, press clippings, and some published material.

VIII. Prime Minister's Office Unnumbered Correspondence Series

This series contains John Diefenbaker’s correspondence while Prime Minister, both incoming and outgoing, which was filed by his office staff. Together with the correspondence in MG 01/VI PMO Numbered Correspondence, it comprises the whole of Diefenbaker’s correspondence during the period, excluding that with his family. It contains correspondence with members of his cabinet, the Civil Service, other politicians, foreign leaders, personal friends and advisors, and the general public, all arranged in the same series of subject files. The topics covered include almost all the political and social questions of the period.

XII. Personal and Confidential Series, 1957-1979

This series consists primarily of those files deemed too sensitive for processing in Diefenbaker’s regular office filing system due to political, personal or security considerations. VIP letters and other documents which Diefenbaker particularly valued are also included. Inter-filed with both categories of material is a body of more mundane documents which Diefenbaker and his staff wanted close at hand for a variety of reasons.

XIII. Reference Series, 1940-1957

This series contains reference material collected by John Diefenbaker and his staff from 1940, when he was elected to Parliament, to 1957, when he became Prime Minister. A wide range of political and social subjects, both Canadian and international, are present.

XIV. Memoirs Series

This series contains those files which appeared to have been removed from their original order or created specifically for use in writing John Diefenbaker’s memoirs. It also contains correspondence about the memoirs project, notes, and drafts of the memoirs, One Canada. There are notes and annotations in Diefenbaker’s hand throughout this series.

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