By Historical Society

Mrs. Diefenbaker – The First

Jul 21, 2011 | 12:32 PM

As visitors come from all across Canada to see how the Diefenbaker’s lived, most are quite surprised when they hear the name Edna. Edna, the forgotten wife.

We have monuments, cairns, even an Olive Diefenbaker Drive to commemorate Olive, the wife everyone knows due to her presence during the Prime Ministerial years. Of course Olive deserves great recognition for her patience and perseverance throughout the great political years, but Edna was her husband’s support system when he was a lawyer with political ambitions.

John and Edna were married June 29, 1929. They were together for many of Diefenbaker’s political ups and downs and were married for a total of 22 years. Edna died in Saskatoon, February 1951 after a battle with leukemia.

The Diefenbaker House Museum located on 19th Street West in Prince Albert was said to be her dream home because of its two story charm. Her favorite room was the sunroom in the back of the house which would have had a great view of the city and river when the backyard trees were younger.

Pictures of Edna are hung around the room as well as around some areas of the home. A couple of her dresses are hung in the master bedroom closet, and a silver tray in the dining room cabinet was given to her as a wedding gift from her school in Saskatoon. Coincidentally, both Olive and Edna collected the same Blue Mikado china which is also displayed in the dining room.

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Just because Edna wasn’t around when Diefenbaker became our country’s leader, doesn’t mean she didn’t have an impact on “the man from Prince Albert.” Hopefully now people can appreciate Edna as the very first Mrs. John Diefenbaker.

Jessica Serfas