VI.

John Diefenbaker

It was not until 1958 that the party—now called the Progressive Conservative Party—again succeeded in developing broad-based national support. In the 1957 election, the party won more seats than any other party in the House of Commons, and John Diefenbaker of Saskatchewan became prime minister. He led his party to an unprecedented victory in the 1958 elections, when it won 208 seats in the House of Commons. Diefenbaker was able to expand the party’s electoral base in the west as well as in Québec.

Diefenbaker’s policies were not fully coherent, but he possessed great rhetorical gifts and was able to appeal successfully to Canadian nationalism. Diefenbaker demonstrated moral leadership in his efforts to guarantee certain rights for all Canadians. His federal Bill of Rights was introduced to Parliament in 1958 and was passed into law in 1960. He also secured the federal vote for Canada’s indigenous peoples. Internationally, he was a leader in condemning racial segregation in South Africa. The economy suffered setbacks, however, and this contributed to an electoral defeat in 1963 that put the Progressive Conservatives out of power almost continuously until 1984. Their widespread support in the west nevertheless continued until 1993.