John Diefenbaker, 1895 – 1979 one of Canada’s most controversial Prime Ministers, was a Baptist.

Born in Ontario in 1895, Diefenbaker served as Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963 and was a member of Parliament from 1940 to his death in 1979. In 1958, Diefenbaker, well known as a fiery populist politician from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, led the Progressive Conservatives to Canada’s largest majority government in Canadian history up to that time. His controversial tenure as Prime Minister was marked by a poor economy, tensions with the United States and Europe, and his opposition to nuclear missiles in Canada. After his defeat as Prime Minister in 1963, he vehemently opposed the Liberal government’s choice of the Maple Leaf as Canada’s flag. He served as party leader until 1967 when he was famously ousted by the leadership of his own political party.

For many, Diefenbaker is most remembered for his political divisiveness and his large role in canceling the technically advanced Avro Aero, a controversial decision that led to the loss of 50,000 jobs, the decimation of Canada’s defence industry and Canada’s dependence on foreign manufacturers for military equipment. More positively, he was known for his high ethical standards and his commitment to human rights. Under his leadership, Canada proclaimed its Bill of Rights, extended the vote to all aboriginal people and opposed including the apartheid regime of South Africa from joining the Commonwealth. He appointed Georges Vanier, father of L’Arche founder Jean Vanier, as Canada’s first francophone governor General and James Gladstone as the first aboriginal Senator. Perhaps his most lasting legacy was that he made the Conservative party popular in the West, a political reality that continues to this day. Diefenbaker was a member of Prince Albert Baptist Church, a congregation that is part of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada denomination (then known as the Baptist Union of Western Canada).