Diefenbaker.ppt

Enter Diefenbaker

1940-57

• the young John Diefenbaker grew up in Saskatchewan and studied law • he served in the First World War and was sent overseas but was invalided out before seeing combat • on his return he worked as a lawyer, with advocacy a big part of his efforts • soon he became involved in politics • Diefenbaker finally won a federal seat (in Saskatchewan) in the 1940 election, which otherwise was a clean sweep for the King Liberals • during the war years he attacked the government for its “coddling” of French Canada in the conscription crisis and for its human rights abuses • Diefenbaker attempted to draw attention to the plight of Japanese Canadians and Jehovah’s Witnesses (few Canadians were listening) • along the way Diefenbaker worked to cultivate ties with journalists • political power entranced him and he attempted twice to secure the Conservative Party leadership, but could not get the better of George Drew • finally, in 1957, Dief took charge of the Tories and led them into a federal election that year “You are out of order, the Liberals and their pipeline must go”

In 1959 the Canadiens’ Jacques Plante is the first goalie to wear a face mask

Diefenbaker wins

1957

• in the 1957 election campaign Diefenbaker attacked an over-confident St. Laurent government (fresh from the pipeline debate) • he attacked the assumptions of the Liberal PM and his powerful minister C.D. Howe that Parliament was the government’s play thing • Diefenbaker railed against Ottawa’s claim that Canadians wanted a close alliance with the USA and that all citizens enjoyed a good life in 1950s Canada • the Conservatives called for a “New National Policy” and on the campaign trail Dief was overtly nationalistic • surprisingly he won (and with no support in Quebec) • during his first term as PM, Diefenbaker could hardly put a foot wrong • he raised old age pensions (and pensions for the disabled) and cut taxes • he brought a woman into the Cabinet, Ellen Fairclough, this a Canadian first • in his first speech as Liberal leader, Lester B. Pearson, derided the move and ridiculed Diefenbaker’s Tories as unfit to govern • Dief calls for a snap election

“Why? Because it’s 1957” In 1959 Marguerite d’Youville is the first Canadian born candidate for sainthood

Fairclough

Success again

1958

• the Conservatives win a big majority but things quickly head south • possessing a prickly personality, Diefenbaker takes affront when his support withers • it does so as the economy slows and unemployment rises • Dief will increase unemployment benefits but cannot solve the persistent job problem • seeking to protect Canada’s farmers during the economic downturn, Diefenbaker will take advantage of a unique Cold War export opportunity • a drought in China leaves that nation desperately in need of wheat and a key Canadian competitor, the USA, will not trade with the newly turned-communist nation • the PM jumps on the turn of good fortune (for Canada that is) and sends Prairie wheat to the Far East… the Americans are not impressed • folks in Washington were also not impressed by Dief’s endeavor to shift 15% of Canada’s trade (now largely with America) from the USA to Britain • they need not have worried much, the plan was not a success

“What harm could there be in helping the Chinese in their hour of need?”

Olive

“I have a vision. Faith in Canada’s future, faith in her destiny”

Troubles not far from the surface

1958

• viewing himself as the champion of the little guy, the PM fiercely turned on those who do not take his side • this included the press corps with whom he had a previously strong relationship • when, in his eyes, they do not grant him the respect due his position, he grew angry • he also complicated matters by placing little trust in the civil service, which he felt was a bastion of Liberal Party supports • this was especially true of the bureaucrats in the External Affairs department • the media, meanwhile, ratcheted up their attacks on the Diefenbaker administration’s failings, and there were many • his budget deficits for one thing and, of course, a matter much related to the former, the Avro Arrow

“Dief, thanks for making me the “It’s Mr. Prime Minister to first Aboriginal member of the you, don’t call me John” Senate” “Damn bureaucrats, Liberals every one of them, Pearsonalities I tell you”

Gladstone

NORAD

1957

• Diefenbaker’s first steps into the realm of defence and the Cold War had met with little controversy • as a response to the Soviet nuclear threat, the North American Air Defense Agreement was signed by the PM (in 1957) • Canada’s air defense was placed under joint Canadian-American command (with American military personnel stationed on our soil) • different distance early warning radar systems (including the DEW Line) stretched across the continent to detect incoming Soviet planes or missiles (North America was now a potential battleground) • key defense installations were established underground • as in the days of St. Laurent, Canada seemed to be co-operating fully with its neighbour to the south, the Americans were pleased • but Diefenbaker, a reactionary populist, had come to power with concerns about excessive Liberal spending (and he quickly finds a cash drain on his administration, the Avro Arrow)

CF-100

Arrows and Missiles

1958

• the Arrow, an expensive supersonic jet fighter built to stop Soviet bombers, was heavily reliant on Ottawa’s funding • the A.V. Roe company designed the Arrow, employing thousands in its construction • Canadians were rightly proud of their technological achievements • but the plane was over budget and behind schedule • with other pressing (and costly) Cold War priorities, Diefenbaker turned sour on the plane when told how much more must be spent to make the Arrow a reality • moreover, he had been advised that the Soviets had now turned to missiles and the Arrow therefore was now obsolete • add to this his personal conflict with A.V. Roe boss, Crawford Gordon, and a decision had been made • Dief was now convinced Canada needed missiles, not the expensive jet Bomarc

“It’s too expensive I tell you” In 1962 Canada puts a satellite into space

Voodoos and Controversy

1959-63

• in support of joint defence efforts (NORAD), Diefenbaker had earlier agreed to deploy the American supersonic Bomarc missile (the world’s first long-range anti-aircraft missiles) • arguing the changing nature of the Cold War and the Bomarc missile program made the Arrow unnecessary, the highly advanced jet was controversially scrapped (and all plans and prototypes destroyed!) • the surface-to-air Bomarc becomes the centre piece of Canada’s nuclear arsenal • the Americans were pleased (the basis for a lasting conspiracy theory that Ottawa bowed to pressure from a jealous Washington to scrap a plane superior to its U.S. counterparts) • then word spread the Bomarc was to be fitted with nukes • much debate and pressure followed, with Dief hesitating to accept the warheads • the PM then suggested the warheads be moved into Canada only in time of crisis (angering JFK); finally after much equivocation Dief said no • for a year the Bomarcs would have no warheads, until Pearson unseats Diefenbaker • the Arrow’s replacement, the Voodoo, was designed to carry nuclear rockets “On Mondays and Wednesdays he likes the warheads, on Tuesdays and Thursdays he doesn’t”

“Damn fool, I’ll fire the lot and show him a thing or two”

Gordon

Canada’s nuclear arsenal

1960-63

• the Bomarc and the CF-101 Voodoo jet (combined with the Genie short range nuclear rocket) joined the Honest John as part of Canada’s nuclear triad • the Bomarcs proved to be very controversial (causing problems for both the governing Conservatives and opposition Liberals, as well as angering the Americans) • debate quickly centred around whether Canada should accept nuclear weapons for these missiles (Dief, who disliked the Americans, wanted them at first but then had second thoughts), anti-nuclear protests occurred • in the next election, when Diefenbaker opted for conventional warheads, his government collapsed over the issue • the incoming Liberals (having previously opposed the presence of nukes on Canadian soil) proceeded to accept the nuclear-armed Bomarcs (but only after Pearson endured withering attacks from the likes of Trudeau) • the nuclear mantle always sat uneasy on Canadian shoulders • Canada’s nuclear arsenal would be phased out in the early 1980s

“it is our policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons in Canada”

LBP is the “unfrocked priest of peace”

Genie

A Coyne for your thoughts

1959

• Diefenbaker also raised a kerfuffle in the Coyne Affair, in which the PM blundered in ousting of (St. Laurent-appointed) James Coyne, the Governor of the Bank of Canada • at the time the outspoken Coyne criticized the Chief’s Ottawa for allowing the American financing of almost every private-sector megaproject in Canada • U.S. and other foreign corporate interests were busily establishing the current branch plant economy (and Coyne, an economic nationalist, thought this a flawed policy) • the cold and aloof senior civil servant publicly indicted a Diefenbaker government then in possession of the biggest parliamentary majority in history • Coyne, whose aim was not to dethrone the PM, spoke out excoriating the Tories for their perilous accumulation of monstrous deficits (greater fiscal prudence he felt was needed) • in return, Tories in the Commons denounced Coyne as an “anarchist” and “a Communist in sheep’s clothing,” protected there from slander actions by parliamentary immunity • the Diefenbaker Cabinet ferociously and messily forced Coyne’s resignation and in so doing bought itself a great deal of bad press, the boss looked paranoid and eccentric • indeed Dief’s relentless handling of the matter had the unexpected consequence of emboldening Pearson who now plotted in earnest the Conservative’s downfall “The man is clearly out of order, Canadians don’t need to save more and I will not raise taxes”

“[I forecast the pending] loss of any effective power to be master of our own household and ultimate absorption in and by another”

Coyne

Cold War, hot scandal

1958-61

• a temporary source of embarrassment for the Diefenbaker government was the Munsinger Affair • around the time the Conservatives secured their long-sought majority, Pierre Sevigny, Dief's associate minister of national defence, began an affair • the woman in question was Gerda Munsinger, a German immigrant and prostitute • indeed Munsinger was involved in relationships with a number of high-ranking Canadian government officials • American intelligence agencies informed the RCMP about the security risk • Diefenbaker reprimanded his minister who stayed in Cabinet, while Munsinger returned to Germany • surprisingly nothing more came of the matter, and it remained a dormant non-issue until raised in parliament by the Liberals in 1966 • then it quickly became Canada's first major parliamentary sex scandal to the delight of the press but no security breach was found “The matter has been settled” “I am not a spy”

Burning bridges

1958-62

• the Diefenbaker government also alienated folks across the Atlantic • in 1961 the PM attended the Commonwealth Conference and there denounced the apartheid regime in South Africa • indeed the Canadian led the push for Pretoria’s ouster from the Commonwealth • the British government of the day was not entirely pleased by his success, as South Africa left the Commonwealth • the Brits were also angry at Dief when he attempted to prevent them from joining the European Common Market • back home the economy was an issue that plagued the PM: he would introduce tax cuts in an effort to stimulate it but to no avail • as the dollar dropped in value compared with the Greenback (in keeping with the PM’s wishes), the Liberals mocked the Conservative leader and his “Diefenbucks” • Dief also rapidly lost the support he had temporarily gained in Quebec, speaking very little French did not help • further hope of French-Canadian support dissipated when Dief spoke of “one Canada,” frowning upon the notion of hyphenated-Canadians “Thanks Dief” “ J’espere que mes veaux sont apres chie… I hope my calves are having a s**t ”

In 1958 Diefenbaker passed a law to protect the Sable Island ponies

The Bill of Rights

1960

• after decades of rights abuses (the most recent being the Japanese internment), Prime Minister John Diefenbaker decided to set matters right • it would be the first attempt by Ottawa to codify human rights • his Bill of Rights was Canada’s first national codified statement of rights: it included freedom of speech, right to a fair hearing, and right to counsel • it formally enshrined as statute law the previously unwritten legal rights of our common law tradition • it had, however, limitations • it applied to federal matters • the Provinces could make individual decisions on human rights issues • it could be changed with just a parliamentary vote • although in truth toothless, the Bill remained for decades a lasting Diefenbaker success “These rights are not negotiable”

In 1961 a new political party came into being, the NDP

Presidents, prime ministers, the Chief and the “Young Pup”

1950s and ‘60s

• St. Laurent and Ike got along famously, so too would Diefenbaker get on well with Ike • but he came to feel that Canadians were developing a rising anti-Americanism (that he could not ignore and could possibly utilize politically) • at issue were U.S. requests for Cold War military co-operation, ranging from overflights of military aircraft, to NORAD demands, and housing nukes • from the perspective of its populist leader, Canadians wanted neutrality • relations between the two countries would take a turn for the worse when Kennedy took office (the Cold War was heating up, the Americans seeking closer ties, when a personality clash complicated otherwise friendly relations) • it all began when the popular Kennedys arrived in Ottawa to visit their thin-skinned host, John Diefenbaker, who took offense at JFK poking fun at his bad French • at one point Dief found a memo belonging to the Americans, read it and decided to keep it, leaving the Yanks, once they realized what had transpired, furious • Kennedy wanted Canada to join the OAS, the PM demurred; the American sought to enlist Canada into Cold War geopolitics, Diefenbaker tried to keep his distance “I found it, I’ll keep it”

“Mr. Diefenbawker, meet my wife”

As things heat up, cold feelings abound

1961

• the populist Diefenbaker found his star eclipsed by the more popular JFK • the Americans sought an expansive alliance with Canada amidst rising Cold War tensions (Dief thought otherwise) • specifically, America wanted its neighbour to accept nuclear-equipped F-101s and oppose a nuclear test ban treaty proposal before the UN • feeling insulted, Diefenbaker was by this point no friend of the president • as a result of this and with an upcoming election in mind, the prime minister was not being co-operative on either count • Kennedy on the other hand faced a problems of monumental proportions: Soviet missiles 90 miles off the coast of Florida and trouble in Berlin • Diefenbaker for his part had worries of his own, he had an election to win “We can mediate between you and Cuba” “ [Join the OAS]… a mere Soviet promise is not satisfactory either to me or to the Canadian public”

Voodoo

“One more thing, you’re boring”

Troubled times

1962

• the warhead issue hovered over the Diefenbaker administration • in the 1962 election the Conservatives would suffer a huge blow and only just manage to salvage a minority government • by this time the Cabinet had lost faith in their boss • the big issue was putting (or not) the warheads on the Bomarcs ordered from the USA • many Canadians did not want the nukes, and wrote to Dief to let him know (their letters helped shape his final decision) • but Dief’s warm relations with Washington were already on the rocks • he had stalled on the implementation of NORAD and the installation of the Bomarcs • he infuriated Washington by selling lots of Canadian wheat to (not Red) China • the PM was at times arrogant, at times hesitant (as was the case with the warheads) • decision making was not his strong suit: endless Cabinet debates failed to reach consensus on the nuclear warheads • similar draining debate centred around death sentence confirmations • then came a crisis in Cuba “Thanks for nothing Dief”

In 1962, with Diefenbaker’s OK, Canada witnessed its last two executions

Relations with our neighbour

1957-63

• in 1961 PM Diefenbaker had flown to Washington to sign the Columbia River Development Treaty with President Eisenhower • the unruly Columbia river would be jointly controlled and collaboratively developed (with Canada building the dams), the power generated shared • on the whole, both sides have been pleased with a deal that clearly reflected a mutual desire for cooperation on both sides of the border • by the time of the Cuban crisis, however, the Canadian leader was not on speaking terms with the new man in the Oval Office, Kennedy • as for Cuba specifically, Canada had not supported the embargo Washington established • when all hell broke out in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Diefenbaker/Kennedy animosity came to the fore • Canada became the only western ally not to accept Kennedy’s claim about the missiles at face value (Dief sought a UN verification) “Where are those darn Canadians when I need them?”

“A pleasure doing business with you Ike”

The great schism

1962

• although Canada did not play a key role in the crisis, as it unfolded Dief would stall and not place Canada’s NORAD forces on the level of alert desired by JFK • America had wanted uniform support from its Western allies, Canada had come up wanting (Dief specifically was left looking bad) • for Canada, this was the sort of “brinksmanship” that we hoped to avoid • JFK was infuriated, during an American existential crisis Diefenbaker had not put Canada’s military on high alert • relations between the two nations sank • matters only worsened over the issue of equipping Canada’s weapons systems with nukes (Dief had not armed our Bomarcs and Voodoos with nuclear weapons) • the White House publically criticized the Canadian’s inaction and things spiralled downhill for Diefenbaker, who was forced to call yet another election “ You S.O.B.”

“ You are not running the Canadian government ”

“we are a power, not a puppet”

The last roll of the dice

1963

• the ‘62 election failure led to heightened bickering inside the Diefenbaker cabinet which was divided over the nuclear warhead issue • by this time Dief had persuaded himself Canadians did not want the warheads • pressure mounted when a retiring NATO Supreme Commander complained publically about Canada’s failure to meet its commitments • the Cabinet fell and an election followed • things looked ominous for Diefenbaker, but he mounted a spirited campaign • travelling the nation he said the Liberals were in Washington’s pocket • he played the anti-American card, much as Borden had years ago • but Dief’s nationalist campaign came up short and the Liberals emerged victorious • where Diefenbaker triumphed was in denying the Liberals a majority • the Diefenbaker government would fall, a casualty of a Cold War that brought even the best of friends to loggerheads over Reds, missiles and warheads

“A vote for Diefenbaker is a vote for Canada” In 1960 Diefenbaker gave Aboriginal Canadians the vote

Bowing out

1963-79

• after losing the federal election to the Grits, Diefenbaker continued to lead his party • over the next four years he would badger the Pearson government • scandals would be exposed and Diefenbaker led the charge in opposition to the new “maple leaf” flag • the new flag was a concession to Quebec, he bellowed, and a violation of Canada’s British heritage (here Diefenbaker fought a rearguard action in a losing battle) • in another losing battle, Dief would lead the Conservatives into the 1965 election campaign, with the Liberals again emerging on top • but Diefenbaker again stymied Pearson by permitting him only a minority government • in 1967 he was defeated in his bid to continue as Conservative Party leaders • Dief would remain a backbencher for another dozen years • during this time people seemed to forget the divisiveness and mistrust associated with his years in office, growing fond of the old war horse • by the time of his death, Diefenbaker had become somewhat of a national treasure and his passing was widely mourned “I call it Pearson’s pennant” In 1962 the Trans-Canada highway is completed