John Stewart McDiarmid

For the tennis player, see John McDiarmid (tennis).
John Stewart McDiarmid
14th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
In office
August 1, 1953  January 15, 1960
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor General Vincent Massey
Georges Vanier
Premier Douglas Lloyd Campbell
Duff Roblin
Preceded by Roland Fairbairn McWilliams
Succeeded by Errick Willis
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Winnipeg South
In office
September 14, 1926  July 28, 1930
Preceded by Robert Rogers
Succeeded by Robert Rogers
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Winnipeg
In office
June 16, 1932  November 10, 1949
Serving with William Sanford Evans
Seymour Farmer, John Thomas Haig, Marcus Hyman, Huntly Ketchen, William Major, Ralph Maybank, William Ivens, John Queen, James A. Barry, James Litterick, Lewis St. George Stubbs, Ralph Webb, Paul Bardal, Morris Gray, W. A. Kardash, Stephen Krawchyk, Charles Rhodes Smith, Gunnar Thorvaldson, William Scraba, Lloyd Stinson, Donovan Swailes
Preceded by William Major
Edward W. Montgomery
John Thomas Haig
William Sanford Evans
William Tobias
Hugh Robson
Edith Rogers
John Queen
Seymour Farmer
William Ivens
Succeeded by District abolish
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Winnipeg South
In office
November 10, 1949  June 8, 1953
Serving with Ronald Turner, Lloyd Stinson, Dufferin Roblin
Preceded by District abolished
Succeeded by Gurney Evans
Personal details
Born (1882-12-25)December 25, 1882
Perthshire, Scotland
Died June 7, 1965(1965-06-07) (aged 82)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Other political
affiliations
Liberal
Progressives
Occupation lumber merchant
Profession Politician
Cabinet Provincial Lands Commissioner (1932-1936)
Minister of Mines and Natural Resources (1932-1953)
Provincial Secretary (1939)

John Stewart McDiarmid (December 25, 1882June 7, 1965) was a Manitoba politician. He held senior ministerial positions in the governments of John Bracken, Stuart Garson and Douglas Campbell, and served as the province's 14th Lieutenant Governor between 1953 and 1960.

McDiarmid was born in Perthshire, Scotland, and emigrated to Canada with his family in 1887. He was educated in Winnipeg, 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 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 as a Liberal, in the riding of Winnipeg South. He defeated his only opponent, Conservative Robert Rogers, by 8809 votes to 7638. For the next four years, he served in parliament as a backbench supporter of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. He was defeated by Rogers in a 1930 rematch, 10117 votes to 9774.

On May 27, 1932, McDiarmid was appointed Provincial Lands Commissioner and Minister of Mines and Natural Resources in the government of provincial Premier John Bracken. This occurred after negotiations in which the provincial Liberal party merged with Bracken's governing Progressives; McDiarmid received one of the cabinet positions designated for the Liberal Party. In a provincial election held less than one month later, McDiarmid was elected to the provincial assembly, topping his party's list in Winnipeg (which elected ten members by preferential balloting, at the time).

Outgoing provincial Liberal leader Murdoch Mackay was defeated in the 1932 election, and McDiarmid was subsequently 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 leader Lloyd Stinson 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 for Winnipeg in 1936, finishing fifth on the city's first-preference votes. In the election 1941, held after the creation of a grand coalition ministry with the Conservatives, CCF and Social Credit, he topped the city's poll outright.

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 and Minister of Industry and Commerce from November 4, 1940 to June 30, 1953, and (briefly) acting Labour Minister following the resignation of CCF leader Seymour J. Farmer in 1942.

McDiarmid finished second on the Winnipeg poll in the general election of 1945 (Farmer was first). In 1949, he topped the poll in the redistributed four-member riding of Winnipeg South.

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.

During his time in cabinet, McDiarmid was responsible for legislation opening northern Manitoba's mine fields to development. He died in 1965.

References

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