The John and Olive Diefenbaker Museum, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Built circa 1912, the John and Olive Diefenbaker Museum in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was John Diefenbaker’s home as he rose in the ranks to become leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party and Prime Minister of Canada. He purchased the home in 1947 with his wife, Edna Brower, who died in 1951. It was their primary residence, where they entertained community leaders. He spent more time in Ottawa after 1953, when he became the Member of Parliament for Prince Albert and married Olive Palmer. Diefenbaker was widely known as “the man from Prince Albert” as he represented the city’s interests in the House of Commons until 1979. He donated the home to the City of Prince Albert in 1975 for use as a museum communicating his legacy to Canadians.

Located at 246 19^th Street West, the home is a two-storey example of Tudor Revival architecture, with a stucco exterior and half-timbering on the second storey. The front elevation’s symmetry, featuring tall and narrow windows and four cedar bushes, gives the home’s exterior a charming appearance. With the exception of the kitchen, the home retains the same layout as in Diefenbaker’s day and, with its period furniture and fixtures, gives visitors the impression of a 1950s home. As a museum, it presents both Diefenbaker’s personal life and his political career, particularly in regards to his longstanding connection with the City of Prince Albert. The rooms feature Diefenbaker’s personal artifacts, including a desk once used in his local campaign offices, as well as furnishings that are not original to the home, but were moved from his Ottawa residence. Photographs in the hallways and rooms present his long legal and political career in Saskatchewan.

When Diefenbaker and his first wife Edna Brower purchased the house, he had already been a Member of Parliament in the riding of Lake Centre for seven years. A redistribution of ridings prompted Diefenbaker to run in Prince Albert in 1953. He adopted a successful non-partisan approach, talking to residents in town streets and creating “Diefenbaker Clubs” of prominent citizens from across the political spectrum. He was Prince Albert’s MP from this 1953 victory until his death in 1979.

Diefenbaker became leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1956, then served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963. Yet, he maintained close ties to Prince Albert. His public persona reflected both his association with this small Saskatchewan city as well as his image as someone who could relate to those outside traditional spheres of influence and power. The John and Olive Diefenbaker Museum, which opened in 1983, commemorates this aspect of Diefenbaker’s history.

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