John Stewart McDiarmid (December 25, 1882 – June 7, 1965) was a

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

politician. He held senior ministerial positions in the governments of

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

, Stuart Garson and Douglas Campbell, and served as the province's 14th Lieutenant Governor between 1953 and 1960. McDiarmid was born in Perthshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with his family in 1887. He was educated in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

, Manitoba, and hired by the Winnipeg Paint and Glass Co. upon its formation in 1902. He later worked his way up to president of the McDiarmid Brothers Lumber Company, which was also located in the city. In 1925, he was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

on Winnipeg's municipal council. He represented the city's first ward, located in south Winnipeg. The following year, McDiarmid was elected to the federal

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, in the riding of

Winnipeg South Winnipeg South (french: Winnipeg-Sud) is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the city of Wi ...

. He defeated his only opponent,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

, by 8809 votes to 7638. For the next four years, he served in parliament as a backbench supporter of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

. He was defeated by Rogers in a 1930 rematch, 10117 votes to 9774. On May 27, 1932, McDiarmid was appointed

Provincial Lands Commissioner Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

and

Minister of Mines and Natural Resources Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the government of provincial Premier

. This occurred after negotiations in which the provincial

party merged with Bracken's governing

Progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

; McDiarmid received one of the cabinet positions designated for the Liberal Party. In the 1932 election held less than a month later, McDiarmid was elected to the

provincial assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

in the constituency of Winnipeg. He was the most popular candidate of his party in the city-wide district.(

elected ten members by STV at the time). Provincial Liberal leader Murdoch Mackay was not elected in the 1932 election, and McDiarmid was recognized as the leading Liberal spokesman in the ''Liberal-Progressive'' coalition. He was not formally recognized as a party leader, as the Liberals were no longer an autonomous entity. Ideologically, McDiarmid appears to have been on the right wing of his party. One-time

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

leader

Lloyd Stinson Lloyd Cleworth Stinson (February 29, 1904 – August 28, 1976) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and the leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1953 to 1959. Although widely regarded as a capable leader, he ...

described him as the most right-wing member of the Liberal-Progressive government, and also accused him of being anti-labour. McDiarmid was re-elected in Winnipeg in 1936, finishing fifth in the city voters' first preferences. In the election 1941, held after the creation of a grand coalition ministry with the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, CCF and

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

, he was the most popular candidate in the first preferences. McDiarmid retained the Land and Natural Resources/Mines portfolios for the entirety of his time in cabinet, and was also Provincial Secretary from November 28, 1939 to February 14, 1946,

Railway Commissioner Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

and

Minister of Industry and Commerce A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

from November 4, 1940 to June 30, 1953, and (briefly) acting Labour Minister following the resignation of CCF leader

Seymour Farmer Seymour James Farmer (June 20, 1878 – January 16, 1951) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Winnipeg MLA from 1922 to 1949. During this time he also served as mayor of Winnipeg 1923-1924 and later as city councillor in the l ...

in 1942. During his time in cabinet, McDiarmid was responsible for legislation opening northern Manitoba's mine fields to development. He died in 1965. McDiarmid was second in the first count of Winnipeg votes in the general election of 1945 and was elected. (Farmer was first). He was the most popular candidate again in 1949 when he ran in the new four-member district of

. He was elected. McDiarmid announced his retirement from politics in 1953, and formally resigned from cabinet on June 30 of that year. Following a period of intense media speculation, McDiarmid was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba on August 1 of the same year. He served in this largely ceremonial position until January 15, 1960, when he was replaced by former Progressive Conservative party leader

Errick Willis Errick French Willis (March 21, 1896 – January 9, 1967) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the province's Conservative Party between 1936 and 1954, and was responsible for beginning and ending the party's allia ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDiarmid, John Stewart 1882 births 1965 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Lieutenant Governors of Manitoba Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba