John Diefenbaker: Canada's 13th Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker: Biography
John Diefenbaker was Canada’s 13th prime minister. He was born in 1895 in Ontario to a German father and a Scottish mother. He was first married to Edna Mae Brower but after she died from leukemia, he married Olive Freeman Palmer. Diefenbaker moved with his family to Saskatchewan when he was young, and attended high school and university there. He attained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1915, Master of Arts in 1916, and law degree in 1919. However, before getting his law degree, he enlisted in the CEF for one year. He started his career in Wakaw but then moved to Prince Albert. Diefenbaker’s many successes in the village as well as his victory in the Atherton case brought him nationwide recognition.
Diefenbaker “ran

During his time, Canada was going into a recession, and to make situations worse, he started wasting money. Diefenbaker cancelled the expensive Avro Arrow project claiming that it was not worth the money because no one wanted to buy it. However, by the time the Arrow project was done, the U.S sent the first man-made object into orbit attracting many people’s attention. Thus, the project’s unpopularity was probably because of its bad timing, and by time, it could have become more sellable. The cancellation not only devastated a Canadian future-promising company, but it also left many people unemployed and reduced production. Diefenbaker also dealt with the cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in a costly way. Diefenbaker bought American Bomarcs but rendered them useless when he decided not to buy nuclear warheads. The money spent into his northern vision also turned to waste when only two mines were

Diefenbaker’s decision to sign the NORAD closely linked Canada’s defense to the U.S’s and this intimate connection is still present today. In this sense, the Avro Arrow project was worth the money, because it would have made Canada more independent and would not have forced it to rely on a country that wants to control it. The previous governor of the Bank of Canada, Coyne, actually criticized Diefenbaker’s government for its huge reliance on capital exports and loans from the U.S.. Diefenbaker was also putting Canada in grave danger by worsening its relations with other countries. He signed the NORAD but then delayed putting Canadian troops on alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis upsetting the U.S.. He also vexed Britain by discouraging its entry in the Common