Education
He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1915 and received an M.A. there in 1916.
He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1915 and received an M.A. there in 1916.
He served overseas as a lieutenant with the Canadian Expeditionary Force but was invalided back to Canada in 1917. He then read law in Saskatoon and was called to the bar of Saskatchewan in 1919. He was Provincial Conservative leader from 1937 to 1940. In 1940 he was elected from the federal riding of Lake Centre, Sask., and was returned to the House of Commons in successive contests until 1953, when he transferred his candidacy to his home riding of Prince Albert.
In December 1956 Diefenbaker won the party leadership, and in the federal elections of June 1957 he defeated the Liberal government that had been in power for 22 years. As prime minister, he strengthened his parliamentary position on Mar. 31, 1958, when his party won 209 out of 265 seats--the largest majority ever recorded. In office he revealed himself as an astute politician. He continued to dominate both his party and Parliament, and his hold on the electorate continued virtually unchallenged until rising unemployment and a worsening economic situation in 1960 gave encouragement to his Liberal and C.C.F. (socialist) opponents. Diefenbaker failed to solve the problem of dominion-provincial financial arrangements but he did succeed in a cherished project, a Bill of Rights, which he saw passed by Parliament. In his electoral campaigns he had called for greater attention to the Commonwealth and less dependence on the United States, but his government's foreign policy differed little from that of the previous Liberal government. In February 1963 Diefenbaker received a vote of no confidence, owing to the delay in the execution of Canada's 1959 commitment to arm with U.S. nuclear weapons. He dissolved Parliament, and general elections were held in April. Diefenbaker waged a campaign that had sharp anti-American overtones. The Conservatives lost their majority, and he resigned as prime minister, while remaining leader of the party. Diefenbaker survived a challenge to his party leadership in 1965 but was removed in 1967. He continued to sit in the House of Commons until his death on Aug. 16, 1979, in Ottawa.