Electoral history of John Diefenbaker

This article is the Electoral history of John Diefenbaker, the thirteenth Prime Minister of Canada.

A Progressive Conservative, he served one term as prime minister (1957–1963), defeating Louis St. Laurent. He won three general elections (1957, 1958 and 1962), with one majority government and two minority governments. He lost the 1963 election to Lester Pearson, who succeeded him as prime minister. Diefenbaker led the party one last time in the 1965 election, but was again defeated by Pearson.

He stood for election to the House of Commons of Canada fifteen times. He was defeated in his first two attempts (1925, 1926), but he was elected on his third try, in 1940. Thereafter, he was elected an additional twelve times, until he died in office in 1979.

Diefenbaker sought the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party three times, unsuccessfully in 1942 and 1948, before winning it in 1957. Following the loss in the election in 1965, the party held a leadership convention in 1967 which he lost, ending his leadership of the Progressive Conservative party. Robert Stanfield succeeded him as party leader.

Prior to election to the House of Commons, Diefenbaker was also involved in Saskatchewan provincial politics and municipal politics, but with little success.

Summary

Diefenbaker ranks tenth out of twenty-three prime ministers for time in office, serving one term of five years and 305 days.PARLINFO: Prime Ministers of Canada.

Diefenbaker is the only prime minister from Saskatchewan.

In 1920, Diefenbaker began his political career, starting with municipal politics. At age 25, he was elected to the village council of Wakaw, Saskatchewan, where he operated his first law practice.

Diefenbaker would not win another election for twenty years. In the intervening two decades, he lost five elections: two at the federal level, two at the provincial level, and one at the municipal level. It was not until 1940 that he finally won his second election, to the House of Commons. From that point on, he never lost an election at the constituency level, winning thirteen straight elections to the Commons. Diefenbaker eventually died in office as a Member of Parliament.

At the federal level, Diefenbaker stood for election in the general elections of 1925 and 1926, but was defeated both times. In the 1926 election, his Liberal opponent was the former prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. This is the only time two future prime ministers have directly opposed each other in the same riding. After his election loss, Diefenbaker was a delegate to the 1927 Conservative convention which chose R.B. Bennett as leader of the party. He also campaigned for the party in the 1935 election.

Diefenbaker was also very active, but unsuccessful, in provincial politics. He stood for election in the provincial election of 1929, but was defeated. In 1933 he was elected vice-president of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party. After the Conservatives were wiped out in the provincial election of 1934, he became the acting president of the party. In 1936, at the leadership convention, he was acclaimed as the leader of the party. He led the party in the provincial election of 1938, running in the constituency of Arm River, but he and the party were both defeated. No Conservatives were elected to the Legislative Assembly and the party earned only 12% of the provincial popular vote. At the subsequent party convention four months after the election, Diefenbaker offered his resignation but it was refused. The Conservatives were so decimated by the previous two elections that they had few members or supporters. He remained leader of the party for the next two years.

In 1933, he ran for the mayor of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, but was defeated by 48 votes.

In 1940, Diefenbaker was elected to the House of Commons, for the riding of Lake Centre. Entering the Commons, he soon showed his leadership aspirations beginning with the Progressive Conservative leadership convention of 1942. Although unsuccessful, he tried again in 1948 and 1956. In 1942 he came in third; in 1948 he came in second; and in 1956 he won the leadership. He would hold the leadership for eleven years, eventually being forced out at the 1967 convention, after the two losses in the general elections of 1963 and 1965.

Diefenbaker was elected to the Commons thirteen times (1940, 1945, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974, and 1979), from 1940 until his death shortly after the election of 1979. For eight straight elections (1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1972, and 1974), he won majorities even in multi-candidate races. In four of those contests, he won majorities of over 65% (72.1% in 1958, 70.8% in 1962, 71.4% in 1963, and 65.5% in 1965).

He served in the House of Commons for a total of 39 years, 4 months, and 21 days.PARLINFO: The Right Hon. John George Diefenbaker.

Federal general elections: 1957 to 1965

Diefenbaker led the Progressive Conservatives in five general elections. He was successful in the general elections of 1957, 1958, and 1962, but was defeated in the elections of 1963 and 1965.

Federal election, 1957

Diefenbaker led the Progressive Conservatives in the general election of 1957. The election resulted in a minority government, with no party having a majority. Although the Liberals came in first in the popular vote, they came in second in seats in the House of Commons, behind Diefenbaker and the Progressive Conservatives. St. Laurent resigned and Diefenbaker formed a minority government, ending twenty-three years of Liberal rule.

+ Canadian Federal Election, 1957 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VoteParty Leaders Seats Won Popular VoteJohn Diefenbaker111238.5%Louis St. Laurent210540.5%Co-operative Commonwealth FederationMajor James Coldwell2510.6%Solon Earl Low196.5%Others–41.0%Spoiled ballots––1.1%Total26596.8%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Prime Minister when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal election, 1958

A year after winning the 1957 election, Diefenbaker led the Progressive Conservatives in the general election of 1958. He won the biggest seat majority in Canadian history up to that time, 208 seats in a House of Commons with 265 seats. Diefenbaker formed a majority government, with a 151-seat majority over the other three parties combined.

+ Canadian Federal Election, 1958 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VoteParty Leaders Seats Won Popular VoteJohn Diefenbaker120853.7%Lester B. Pearson24833.4%Co-operative Commonwealth FederationMajor James Coldwell89.5%–10.2%Total26598.2%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal election, 1962

After four years of majority government, Diefenbaker again led the Progressive Conservatives to the polls, but lost almost one hundred seats and was reduced to a minority government.

+ Canadian Federal Election, 1962 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VoteParty Leaders Seats Won Popular VoteJohn Diefenbaker111637.2%Lester B. Pearson29937.0%Robert N. Thompson3011.6%New Democratic PartyTommy Douglas1913.6%–10.2%Total26599.6%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal election, 1963

Diefenbaker's minority government following the 1962 election lasted less than a year. His government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence in February, 1963, which resulted in the dissolution of Parliament and a general election. Lester Pearson and the Liberals won the election, but fell five seats short of a majority. Pearson become prime minister of a minority government, and Diefenbaker became Leader of the Opposition.

+ Canadian Federal Election, 1963 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VoteParty Leaders Seats Won Popular VoteLester B. Pearson112841.5%John Diefenbaker29532.8%Robert N. Thompson2411.9%New Democratic PartyTommy Douglas1713.2%–10.2%Total26599.6%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Prime Minister when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal election, 1965

After two years of minority government, Pearson and the Liberals called an election. The result was another hung parliament. The Liberals increased their seat total, but again fell short of an outright majority, this time by two seats. Pearson governed as a minority government. Diefenbaker initially continued as leader of the Opposition, but in 1966 he was ousted by a party revolt. Robert Stanfield succeeded him as party leader.

+ Canadian Federal Election, 1965 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VoteParty Leaders Seats Won Popular VoteLester B. Pearson113140.2%John Diefenbaker29732.4%New Democratic PartyTommy Douglas2117.9%Ralliement créditisteRéal Caouette94.7%Robert N. Thompson53.7%Independent–10.7%Independent PC–10.2%Total26599.8%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal constituency elections: 1925, 1926, 1940 to 1979

Diefenbaker stood for election to the House of Commons fifteen times. He was defeated in his first two attempts, but elected in 1940 onwards.

1925 Federal Election: Prince Albert

+ Federal Election, 1925: Prince Albert, SaskatchewanParty Candidate Popular Vote % Charles M. McDonald5,30151.2%X Andrew Knox2,63825.5%ConservativeJohn Diefenbaker2,41223.3%Total10,351100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Prince Albert

Elected. X Incumbent.

1926 Federal election: Prince Albert

In the 1926 general election, Diefenbaker's opponent in Prince Albert riding was Mackenzie King. This is the only occasion where two future prime ministers have run directly against each other in the same riding.

+ Federal Election, 1926: Prince Albert, SaskatchewanParty Candidate Popular Vote % X William Lyon Mackenzie King8,93364.9% ConservativeJohn Diefenbaker4,83835.1%Total13,771 100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Prince Albert

Elected. X Incumbent.

1940 Federal election: Lake Centre

+ Federal Election, 1940: Lake Centre, SaskatchewanParty Candidate Popular Vote % National Government John Diefenbaker5,97436.3%X John Frederick Johnston5,69434.6%Co-operative Commonwealth FederationWilliam Russell Fansher4,79329.1%Total16,461 100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Lake Centre

Elected. X Incumbent.

1945 Federal election: Lake Centre

+ Federal Election, 1945: Lake Centre, SaskatchewanParty Candidate Popular Vote % X John Diefenbaker6,88441.5%Co-operative Commonwealth FederationLeslie John Bright5,41335.5%Frank Campbell Latta3,81223.0%Total16,571100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Lake Centre

Elected. X Incumbent.