by Denis Smith
97 Nellie L. McClung to JGD, September 22, 1948. Diefenbaker replied that he was “deeply honoured” by her letter. JGDP, III/73, 59054-55
98 A.R.M. Lower to JGD, September 29, 1948, ibid., 59125
99 J.B. McGeachy, “PCs in Convention,” Globe and Mail, October 1, 1948
100 Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 1948
101 Ibid.
102 Globe and Mail, October 1, 1948; Winnipeg Tribune, October 1, 1948
103 Tribune, Globe and Mail, Citizen, October 2, 1948
104 Citizen, October 2, 1948. The information that Diefenbaker’s ancestry was Dutch rather than German apparently came from Diefenbaker himself. He might equally have taken Mr Dooley’s advice to call himself Anglo-Saxon: “An Anglo-Saxon is a German that’s forgot who was his parents.” See Moynihan, Pandaemonium, 12. The Dutch label (as in “Pennsylvania Dutch,” who were German in origin) was an ingenious means of dealing with what was still a political liability in Canada: a name that was neither British nor French. The Dutch, who were heroic allies to Canada during the war and already popular postwar immigrants, were surely next best in the Canadian ratings.
105 Tribune and Citizen, October 2, 1948
106 The convention had voted in favour of outlawing the party.
107 Citizen, October 2, 1948
108 Ibid.
109 Tribune, October 4, 1948
110 Citizen, October 4, 1948
111 Ibid.
112 OC 1, 268. Diefenbaker failed to say that this coolness might have been a response to his own display of pique at the convention. According to Donald Fleming, “Diefenbaker and his wife made a conspicuous departure from the platform in very bad taste soon after the result of the balloting was announced.” Fleming, Near 1, 148
113 Paul Martin to JGD, October 7, 1948, JGDP, III/73, 59294
114 Bill Archer to JGD, October 7, 1948, ibid., 59290-91
115 Davie Fulton to JGD, October 7, 1948, ibid., 59284-87
116 Davie Fulton to JGD, October 7, 1948, ibid., 59282-83
117 G.S. Thorvaldson to David J. Walker, October 6, 1948, ibid.
118 JGD to Bill Archer, October 14, 1948; JGD to A.R.M. Lower, October 8, 1948, ibid., 59292, 59126
119 JGD to Jack Anderson, October 7, 1948, ibid. These figures suggest that Diefenbaker was hoping for something close to a dead heat between himself and Drew on the first ballot, and the need for a second ballot after the elimination of Fleming on the first.
120 Globe and Mail, October 8, 1948
121 JGD to the editor, Globe and Mail, October 15, 1948
122 See, for example, Graham, Frost, 135-37. Drew entered the House through a by-election in the Ottawa region constituency of Carleton on December 13, 1948. At least one Conservative friend of Diefenbaker referred to Drew privately as “Georgie Porgie.” Evelene Blakely to Edna Diefenbaker, July 12, 1949, JGDP, V/53, 34153
123 Grant Dexter, Mr. Drew in Action, quoted in Williams, Conservative Party, 212
124 Fleming, Near 1, 172
125 Bothwell et al., Canada, 116-17; OC 1, 268-69
126 Williams, Conservative Party, 173-74, 212
127 Ibid., 174; OC 1, 268
128 Bothwell et al., Canada, 117
129 James McCook, quoted in Williams, Conservative Party, 175
130 Perlin, Tory Syndrome, 53; Williams, Conservative Party, 180-81
131 Williams, Conservative Party, 179-80. In later editions the last line read “Vote St. Laurent.”
132 OC 1, 271
133 Ibid., 260-61
134 Ibid., 262
135 Bothwell et al., Canada, 117; OC 1, 262, 271; Williams, Conservative Party, 181-84
136 Edna indicates, in her letters from this time, that John was writing regularly to her as well as forwarding Hansard and newspapers. But these letters do not survive in the Diefenbaker Papers.
137 Edna to JGD, undated, JGDP, V/10, 7046-47
138 Edna to JGD, undated, ibid., 7056-59
139 Edna to JGD, undated, ibid., 7069-72
140 Edna to JGD, undated, ibid., 7091
141 Quoted in Holt, Other, 281
142 Nicholson, Vision, 29
143 Holt dates this move indefinitely in “late 1946 or early 1947,” but it seems to have been later. Holt, Other, 272-75
144 Van Dusen, The Chief, 8-9
145 The reporters included Frank Swanson of the Ottawa Citizen, Arthur Blakely of the Montreal Gazette, and Peter Dempson of the Toronto Telegram. Holt, Other, 273-77; Dempson, Assignment Ottawa, 88
146 The words are those of Frank Swanson, quoted in Holt, Other, 273
147 Frank Swanson also testified to the plentiful presence of liquor and wine at these parties, and insisted that Diefenbaker had “the odd drink” of scotch, despite his claims to be a teetotaller. Dempson, on the other hand, wrote that “Diefenbaker himself would wander among the guests with a glass of sherry in his hand, but I can’t recall ever seeing him take a sip.” Dempson, Assignment Ottawa, 88; Holt, Other, 274
148 Kate Aitken to Mrs John G. Diefenbaker, enclosing a transcript of her CFRB program, September 21, 1948, JGDP, V/53, 34148-50
149 Dempson recalled one disturbing encounter in the late 1940s when he interrupted a private argument in the MP’s office. Diefenbaker revealed that Edna wanted him to accept an offer to become counsel for a major oil company at a salary five times that of an MP, and asked Dempson for his opinion. Dempson faltered at this invitation to intrude in a personal dispute. He thought Diefenbaker should accept, but knew he would not do so. “Well, I finally blurted out, it’s an attractive offer. Financially, you’d be far better off. But I’m afraid you wouldn’t be happy, leaving public life.” Diefenbaker “snorted” his agreement and announced that he would reject the offer. Dempson, Assignment Ottawa, 84-85
150 Holt reported that James and Kathleen Sinclair and Alvin Hamilton, among others, noticed Edna’s jealousy. Edna’s reference to John’s secretary reads: “Who is your Stenographer you never said if you can have Mr. Gratrix or not.” Holt, Other, 312; Edna to JGD, undated, JGDP, V/10, 7069-72
151 Edna to JGD, all undated, JGDP, V/10, 7087-90, 7094-101
152 F. Lennon, The Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek, Michigan, to JGD, February 28, 1950, JGDP, V/14, 9155-A. The correspondence in the Diefenbaker Papers is incomplete and there is no indication of the outcome of his inquiries. The Battle Creek “San” is the subject of T. Coraghessan Boyle’s 1993 comic novel, The Road To Wellville, and the film of the same name.
153 Stephen Smith, “Cornflakes, love and money,” Toronto Star, July 24, 1993
154 Mary F. Diefenbaker to JGD, undated (dated by archivist April 1950), JGDP, V/1, 422-23
155 Mary F. Diefenbaker to JGD, June 1, 1950, ibid., 424-25
156 See, for example, Holt, Other, 291-92. There is evident heaviness or swelling in Edna’s neck in photographs from the summer and autumn of 1950.
157 JGD to Herbert A. Bruce, September 6, 1950, Bruce Papers
158 Edna Diefenbaker to Mary F. Diefenbaker, September 19, 1950, JGDP, V/1, 428
159 See Holt, Other, 295-98.
160 In Vancouver, he told his niece Sheila that Edna was being treated for shingles. Holt, Other, 297-98
161 JGD to Mary F. Diefenbaker, November 13, 1950, JGDP, V/1, 431
162 Holt, Other, 297-99; JGD to Mary F. Diefenbaker, November 13, 1950, JGDP, V/1, 431-32
163 JGD to Mary F. Diefenbaker, November 13, 24, 26, 1950, ibid., 431-39
164 JGD to Mary F. Diefenbaker, November 24, 1950, ibid., 433-34; JGD to Edna, November 15, 1950, quoted in Holt, Other, 298
165 Ibid.
166 The quotation is from JGD to Louis Breithaupt, January 22, 1951, JGDP, III/59, 47417-18; Holt, Other, 300-03.
167 Holt, Other, 303-04
168 Percy Philip to Edna Diefenbaker, January 31, 1951, JGDP, V/53, 34253
169 Dave Walker to Edna Diefenbaker, Saturday, undated, ibid., 34196-98
170 Martin, Very Public 2, 288-89; see also Holt,
Other, 308-10.
171 Diefenbaker had also told his sister-in-law Susan Brower that his distraction over Edna’s illness made it impossible for him to focus on anything else. Diefenbaker relates his story of the incident in OC 1, 111-16; Holt’s account, based on interviews with Susan Brower, is in Holt, Other, 304-07.
172 Prince Albert Daily Herald, February 10, 1951 (also quoted in Holt, Other, 321-22). For the Laing, Green, and Gardiner tributes, see the Debates, February 7 and 9, 1951, 158, 161, 241. The “unelected member” is referred to by Douglas How of Canadian Press in the Ottawa Citizen, February 8, 1951; the “gay and lovable personality” is described by Margaret Aitken of the Telegram, both quoted in Holt, Other, 319, 323.
173 Holt, Other, 327-28; Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, February 10, 1951
174 Holt, Other, 323-24
175 Interment Order No. 15304, Woodlawn, City of Saskatoon, February 9, 1951, JGDP, V/ unnumbered
Chapter 6 The Big Fish
1 OC 1, 112-14; Holt, Other, 329-30
2 Quoted in Holt, Other, 129-30
3 OC 1, 114, 116
4 Ibid., 115
5 Ibid., 116
6 See, for example, the account of Donald Fleming in Near 1, 178-85.
7 House of Commons, Debates, May 21, 1951, 3253
8 Fleming, Near 1, 208
9 Ibid., 212
10 Diefenbaker mentions several of these factors in OC 1, 271. Blair Fraser’s phrase appears in a profile in his column in Maclean’s, December 1, 1953, reprinted in Fraser, “Blair Fraser Reports”, 53-62.
11 OC 1, 271
12 In 1953, aside from a hectic ten-week period of election campaigning, Diefenbaker made more than thirty speeches in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to service clubs and PC associations. In August 1953 he was made Chief Eagle by the Duck Lake Indian band. Diefenbaker pocket diary for 1953, JGDP, III/24/312, 17217-310
13 OC 1, 271-72
14 House of Commons, Debates, June 30, 1952, 3983. Fleming calculated that the townships removed from the riding had given Diefenbaker 3447 votes in 1949, compared with 1166 Liberal and 2049 CCF ballots. Ibid., 3977
15 OC 1, 272-76
16 George Whitter to JGD, June 17, 1966, JGDP, XIV/1
17 Ibid. Although Diefenbaker received this account from Whitter in 1966, presumably in response to a request for information for his memoirs, it is not mentioned in One Canada.
18 The record does not make clear whether there were two separate fishing trips. It is possible that Whitter’s memory confused the chronology and that there was only one trip, to both Waskesiu and Lac La Ronge, as Elmer’s letter suggests. OC 1, 272-73; Elmer Diefenbaker to Mary F. Diefenbaker, July 26, 1952, JGDP, V/31, 20451
19 Brunt arranged with Diefenbaker’s Toronto friend George Johnston to provide Elmer with a $500 honorarium for several weeks in the constituency. “I have never met anyone,” Brunt wrote to Elmer, “who has the happy faculty that you have for being able to go into a Riding, size up the situation and then be able to tell a prospective candidate just what his chances are of being elected.” As late as April 15, 1953, Diefenbaker was still seeking guidance from friends in Lake Centre and had not ruled out renomination there. W.R. Brunt to Elmer Diefenbaker, October 29, 1952; JGD to Gus Mackay, April 15, 1953, JGDP, III/50/544, 39817-18, 39822
20 R.G. Green to JGD, February 10, 1953, JGDP, III/15/187, 10885-88
21 The formal nomination meeting of the Prince Albert PC Association took place on May 16, 1953, at Diefenbaker’s request. The local Conservative Orest Bendas noted that, although press reports said the nomination meeting was organized by the Diefenbaker Clubs, it was officially a Conservative nominating convention. Diefenbaker “did not try to separate himself completely from the party.” That was a matter of both courtesy and prudence. OC 1, 273-74; Prince Albert Daily Herald, November 28, 1952; Memo, “Executive meeting held at this office Nov. 26, 1952,” JGDP, III/15/187, 10872; JGD to M.J. O’Brien, February 19, 1953; JGD to George Drew, April 8, 1953, JGD to Gus Mackay, April 15, 1953, JGDP, III/75/958.12, 61076; III/79/969.7, 62677; III/50/544, 39822; III/24/312, 17247-60; XVIII/OH/749
22 JGD to Olive Palmer, quoted in Spencer, Trumpets, 9
23 See Fleming, Near 1, 223-31, esp. 225.
24 Ibid., 227. The other Conservative members of the committee were Rodney Adamson, Davie Fulton, Douglas Harkness, J.R. Macdonnell, and George Pearkes.
25 The classic account of the Liberal Party in this period of dominance is Whitaker’s Government Party. See especially chapter 5, “The Government Party Fulfilled, 1945-58,” 165-215. For the 1953 campaign, see Camp, Gentlemen, 133-39; OC 1, 274-75; Fleming, Near 1, 238-41.
26 OC 1, 275
27 Camp, Gentlemen, 136
28 George Whitter to JGD, June 17, 1966, JGDP, XIV/1
29 Diefenbaker pocket diary for 1953; “John Diefenbaker - Ontario Itinerary,”July 6-9, 1953; “John Diefenbaker - Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick Tour,” July 25-31, 1953, JGDP, III/24/312, 17264-84; III/49/539, 39220, 39254-55; Spencer, Trumpets, 10-16
30 Spencer, Trumpets, 15
31 Quoted ibid., 15
32 OC 1, 274-75; Holt, Other, 332
33 Marjorie (Bunny) Pound, JGDP, XVIII/OH/83.1-4, 84.1-2, July 11, 14, 1986; May 19, July 7, 1989. Camp reports one disconcerting occasion in the winter of 1955-56 when Diefenbaker, still a back-bencher, rebuked him for an imagined slight in failing to find Olive a place at a banquet headtable. “I know how these things happen,” Diefenbaker told Camp. “But I want you to know, you see, there will never be a next time. That’s all. If my wife can’t be there, then I won’t be there. Is that clear?” Camp excused himself, thinking “What a strange man.” Camp, Gentlemen, 195-96
34 JGD to Roy Hall, February 16, 1953; JGD to Clyne Harradence, May 22, 1954, JGDP, I/18/13.5, 16730, 16733; Royal Bank, Watrous to JGD, June 22, 1956, ibid., III/32, 23869-70; XVIII/OH/83.1-4, 84.1-2; XVIII/OH/45. Harradence had run as a Liberal candidate in the 1956 provincial election and believed that this may have been a factor in Diefenbaker’s reluctance to sort out his position in the law firm.
35 JGD to E. Cathro, December 1, 1955, JGDP, I/6, 6133
36 J.V. Clyne, Jack of All Trades, quoted in the Globe and Mail, October 26, 1985
37 Ibid.
38 Fleming, Near 1, 242
39 Ibid., 243
40 Ibid., 244
41 OC 1, 270
42 Its members were identified by Tom McMillan as Ellen Fairclough, George Nowlan, Clair Casselman, Earl Rowe, J. Waldo Monteith, J.M. Macdonnell, R.W. Mitchell, Leon Baker, R.A. Bell, and the journalist Grattan O’Leary. Tom McMillan, “The 1956 Conservative Leadership Convention,” unpublished paper
43 Camp, Gentlemen, 145
44 Ibid., 140-48; Perlin, Tory Syndrome, 53-54
45 Bruce Hutchison to Grant Dexter, April 7, 1955, Hutchison Papers
46 Bruce Hutchison to Grant Dexter, July 1, 1955, ibid.
47 W.L. Morton wrote that “beneath the surface, vague discontent and flickering uneasiness were stirring and taking form as criticism of the government.” Morton, Kingdom of Canada, 507
48 See Kilbourn, PipeLine, passim; Bothwell and Kilbourn, C.D. Howe, 283-316; Fleming, Near 1, 297-321. The financial scheme that allowed construction to proceed (involving initial government ownership of the northern Ontario section of the pipeline) was devised by Howe’s deputy, Mitchell Sharp.
49 Davie Fulton noted his coordinating role with Stanley Knowles in an interview with the author, September 24, 1993.
50 Hampden was one of the five members of the English parliament whose aborted arrest in the House of Commons by Charles I led to the English Civil War. He was one of Diefenbaker’s heroes.
51 Debates, May 25, June 4, 1956, 4344-52, 4661-62; Fleming, Near 1, 303-12; Kilbourn, PipeLine, 111. Fleming denied suggestions that the incident had been planned and intentionally provoked as “a wicked collection of falsehoods in every particular.”
52 Debates, May 17, 1956, 4031-44. One of Diefenb
aker’s frequent correspondents on the pipeline issue was the Toronto advertising executive George Johnston, who criticized the official Conservative tactic of cooperation with the CCF and suggested that an alternative line running partly through the United States could be built quickly and without public subsidy. Diefenbaker followed Johnston’s advice about seeking information from other American gas distribution companies. Johnston seems to have influenced Diefenbaker’s tentative approach in his speech of May 17. George Johnston to JGD, February 23, 1956, JGDP, III/68/911, 54925-27
53 Interview with Davie Fulton, September 24, 1993. Diefenbaker’s brief but melodramatic account of the pipeline debate in his memoirs does not mention his reluctance to support the party’s tactics. Instead, he emphasizes the comparison to the Long Parliament’s defiance of Charles I that was implied in his remark about John Hampden; and he gives credit to the “valiant fighters” Drew, Fleming, Fulton, Green, and Coldwell. Fleming comments pointedly that, on an occasion when the CCF leader M.J. Coldwell, George Drew, Fleming himself, and other members stepped into the aisle to protest against an outrageous ruling by the Speaker, “At no time did John Diefenbaker leave his seat.” OC 1, 245-47
54 JGD to J.M. Cuelenaere, June 30, 1956, JGDP, I/18/13.5, 16694; Kilbourn, PipeLine, 136
55 Those present at the drafting of Drew’s letter of resignation, according to two of the participants, were Grattan O’Leary, J.M. Macdonnell, Léon Balcer, Earl Rowe, George Nowlan, Bill Rowe, Ellen Fairclough, Fiorenza Drew, and Dr Ray Farquarson (Drew’s physician). Stursberg, Leadership Gained, 5-7; Camp, Gentlemen, 205-11; Fleming, Near 1, 322-23; O’Leary, Recollections, 114-16; OC 1, 276
56 George Pearkes to JGD, September 22, 1956, JGDP, III/74/950, 59686-87
57 David J. Walker to JGD, September 24, 1956, JGDP, III/74/951.1, 59804-05
58 “I have to go along with the gang, Benbo,” Hees told Eddie Goodman. Hees brought with him the useful support of John Bassett and the Toronto Telegram, and the organizing talents of Eddie Goodman. As Dana Porter, the provincial treasurer of Ontario, pointed out to Diefenbaker, the Ontario government had supported Liberal policy on the natural gas pipeline as a participant and as a beneficiary. Diefenbaker’s relative passivity during the parliamentary struggle may thus have been a factor in Frost’s decision to support him for the leadership; it may even have been one of Diefenbaker’s own calculations during the debate. Goodman, Life, 72-75; Dana Porter to JGD, December 10, 1956, JGDP, III/74/14.5, 60259-60; Charlotte Gobeil, Interview with John Bassett, Political Memoirs, CTV, January 3, 1993