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Edna Diefenbaker

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(Redirected fromEdna Brower)
Canadian political spouse (1899–1951)

Edna Diefenbaker
Personal details
Born
Edna May Brower

(1899-11-30)November 30, 1899
Wawanesa, Manitoba, Canada
DiedFebruary 7, 1951(1951-02-07) (aged 51)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouse

Edna May Diefenbaker (néeBrower; November 30, 1899 – February 7, 1951) was the first wife of the 13thPrime Minister of Canada,John Diefenbaker.[1]

Early life

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She was born inWawanesa, Manitoba, and worked as aschoolteacher at Mayfair Elementary School inSaskatoon, Saskatchewan before marrying John Diefenbaker in 1929.[2]

Political life

[edit]

Her marriage brought an end to her teaching career, and Diefenbaker devoted her energies to the advancement of her husband's political career. She would visit towns before her husband so that he was prepared with information on the inhabitants.[3] She also edited her husband's speeches, and often acted as chauffeur, driving him to meetings. Perhaps most importantly, she helped him to overcome his shyness and develop into a "man of the people", which would help him in his future political successes.

Upon her husband's election as aProgressive Conservativemember of Parliament Diefenbaker worked on his behalf in an unpaid capacity.[1] She was a constant presence in the visitor's gallery in theHouse of Commons of Canada, and played an important role in establishing close relationships between her husband and reporters in theOttawa press gallery.[4]

William Lyon Mackenzie King once asserted that if he had met Edna before John did, she would have become his wife instead of John's.[1]

John, however, may have had at least one extramarital affair during their marriage, as a group of brothers with a significant physical resemblance to John Diefenbaker later learned that their father, who had been placed for adoption in 1939, was the birth son of the Diefenbakers' housekeeper.[5] Although John had no children with either of his wives who could takeDNA tests to confirm a relationship, the brothers did get a DNA match to another man, George Dryden, who also already believed that John Diefenbaker was his biological father, although he was born during John's second marriage following Edna's death.[5]

TheDiefenbaker House inPrince Albert, Saskatchewan, was purchased by John and Edna during their marriage.[6]

Illness and death

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In later years, she suffered from depression as she enteredmenopause, and was subjected toelectroshock treatment.[7]

She died ofleukemia in 1951, six years before her husband became prime minister. MPs in theHouse of Commons of Canada gave her "unprecedented eulogies" for a non-MP.[2] John Diefenbaker later marriedOlive Palmer, his wife during his term as prime minister. Edna Diefenbaker is interred atWoodlawn Cemetery.

Legacy

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In 1982, Diefenbaker became the focus ofSimma Holt's bookThe Other Mrs. Diefenbaker, which traced the ways in which her influence and support had been instrumental in John Diefenbaker's political career.[1] Author Heather Robertson also wrote on her and otherspouses of Canadian prime ministers in the 1991 bookMore Than a Rose.[3]

Although officially named the John and Olive Diefenbaker Museum due to Olive's status as John's wife during his term as prime minister, the Diefenbaker House museum does include materials related to Edna in its exhibits.[6]

References

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  1. ^abcdGeoffrey Stevens, "The Chief's unknown and vivacious first love".The Globe and Mail, September 25, 1982.
  2. ^abSmith, Denis (2016)."Diefenbaker, John George". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.).Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XX (1971–1980) (online ed.).University of Toronto Press.
  3. ^abJim Romahn, "Author paints colorful portrait of PMs, their wives and lovers,"Kitchener – Waterloo Record, Kitchener, Ontario: November 16, 1991. pg. E.8.
  4. ^Denis Smith,Rogue Tory: The Life and Legend of John G. Diefenbaker. Toronto: Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 1995, pp. 111–112.
  5. ^abDan Zakreski,"DNA suggests ex-PM Diefenbaker had at least two affairs".CBC News Saskatoon, December 13, 2013.
  6. ^ab"Historical Society volunteers preserve our past".Prince Albert Daily Herald, November 21, 2018.
  7. ^Claire Rothman, "Lives of political women; Heather Robertson investigates the bitter fate of our prime ministers' wives".Montreal Gazette, September 28, 1991.
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