Diefenbaker Centre
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The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Centre for the Study of Canada, popularly known as the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, is a prime ministerial museum and archives located in Saskatoon, honouring Canada's 13th prime minister, the Rt. Hon.
John G. Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
. Upon his election as chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan in 1969, Diefenbaker approached the university with an offer to donate his estate to the institution, on the condition that a museum and archives be built to house and display his items. Diefenbaker's inspiration in this regard was the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, which he had previously visited. The university accepted Diefenbaker's donation. Construction began on the centre, which opened on June 12, 1980. The centre's museum contains a permanent display on the life and career of Diefenbaker, highlighted by replica rooms of the Prime Minister's Office and Privy Council Chambers, as they existed on Parliament Hill during his governments from 1957 to 1963. A portion of the museum is set aside for traveling exhibits related to his career interests. In 1997, one of these exhibitions was the site of a theft when items were stolen from an exhibition of French jewelry.Jewels lifted by crafty thieves Lyons, Murray.Star - Phoenix; Saskatoon, Sask. askatoon, Sask0 Jan 1997: A1. The Diefenbaker Canada Centre archives contains Diefenbaker's personal and professional papers, photographs, and audio-visual material, including his prime ministerial papers. The papers of Diefenbaker, and those of
R.B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in ...
, are the only prime ministerial papers not housed at
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
. File:DieenbakerCentre.jpg, John G. Diefenbaker Centre for the Study of Canada File:DiefenbakerJohnGeorge.jpg, John G. Diefenbaker Centre for the Study of Canada


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diefenbaker Centre University of Saskatchewan Museums in Saskatoon University museums in Canada History museums in Saskatchewan Biographical museums in Canada John Diefenbaker 1980 establishments in Saskatchewan Museums established in 1980