John G. Diefenbaker’s "A New Vision", delivered on February 12, 1958, at Winnipeg’s Civic Auditorium, remains one of the most powerful speeches of his political career, encapsulating his populist vision for Canada. This speech came at a critical time in Canadian history, as Diefenbaker, recently elected as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Prime Minister, was navigating a transformative period for both the nation and his leadership. Diefenbaker sought to articulate a vision that would inspire unity, economic opportunity, and renewed national purpose, setting the tone for his government’s agenda and helping secure a historic victory in the 1958 federal election.
The core message of Diefenbaker’s speech was one of inclusion and opportunity for all Canadians. He envisioned a Canada where economic progress, civil liberties, and regional development would go hand in hand. As a prairie populist, Diefenbaker had long championed the cause of ordinary Canadians—farmers, workers, and those in underrepresented regions of the country—and this speech was no different. He called for policies that would distribute wealth and opportunity more equally across the provinces, ensuring that no region was left behind as Canada continued to develop as a prosperous, modern nation. Diefenbaker’s appeal to the “forgotten man” struck a chord with many, particularly in the West and rural parts of Canada, who felt alienated by the centralization of power and wealth in Ontario and Quebec.
One of the major pillars of Diefenbaker’s "New Vision" was his commitment to national development through the Northern Vision. He laid out plans for developing Canada’s northern territories, which he saw as an untapped resource that could fuel the country’s economic growth for decades to come. He spoke passionately about opening the North for settlement and industry, particularly in mining and natural resources. Diefenbaker’s focus on the North was both practical and symbolic—it represented Canada’s future potential and his desire to unite the country’s vast, geographically diverse regions through shared prosperity.
Diefenbaker also spoke about his desire to protect and promote individual freedoms, a theme that would later culminate in his introduction of the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960. At this time, Diefenbaker was already emphasizing the importance of protecting civil liberties in the face of economic and political pressures. His “New Vision” was not just about material progress but about ensuring that every Canadian, regardless of background, had the same rights and freedoms under the law.
Diefenbaker’s speech also had an international dimension. He highlighted Canada’s growing role on the world stage as a middle power, particularly within the Commonwealth and NATO. Diefenbaker envisioned a Canada that would not only protect its own sovereignty but also contribute to international peace and development. His New Vision included an independent foreign policy that balanced relations with the United States while maintaining a strong connection to Britain and the Commonwealth. This was a delicate balancing act, and Diefenbaker’s rhetoric on foreign policy demonstrated his deep concern for maintaining Canadian independence amidst Cold War tensions.
The speech was highly influential in Canadian history, helping to secure Diefenbaker’s landslide victory in the 1958 federal election. His message of national unity, economic opportunity, and individual freedoms resonated with a broad cross-section of Canadians, particularly those outside the traditional power centers of Central Canada. His promise of developing the North and creating opportunities for all Canadians—whether they lived in urban centers, rural areas, or remote regions—captured the imagination of voters, leading to one of the largest parliamentary majorities in Canadian history.
The implications of Diefenbaker’s "New Vision" would unfold over the course of his government. His focus on northern development, civil rights, and a more equitable distribution of wealth across Canada’s regions had lasting impacts, although not all of his ambitious projects came to fruition as planned. His Northern Vision faced challenges, particularly related to the economic viability of northern development, and some of his social and economic policies were criticized for not fully addressing the growing complexities of a modernizing economy. However, Diefenbaker’s emphasis on national unity and regional development would influence subsequent governments, and his introduction of the Canadian Bill of Rights laid the groundwork for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.
In conclusion, John Diefenbaker’s "A New Vision" speech in Winnipeg was a defining moment in Canadian political history, articulating a vision of unity, opportunity, and freedom that resonated with voters across the country. It encapsulated Diefenbaker’s populist approach, his commitment to the rights of ordinary Canadians, and his desire to see Canada fulfill its potential both at home and on the world stage. While some of his grand ambitions would face practical challenges, the speech remains a powerful symbol of his leadership and the ideals that drove his government during its brief but impactful tenure.
A New Vision
by John G. Diefenbaker
at the Civic Auditorium, Winnipeg, 12 February 1958
Ladies and gentlemen, we started in the last few months, since June the 10th, to carry out our promises, and I can tell you this, that as long as I am Prime Minister of this country, the welfare of the average Canadian will not be forgotten. We intend to launch for the future, we have laid the foundations now, the long-range objectives of this party. We ask from you a mandate; a new and a stronger mandate, to pursue the planning and to carry to fruition our new national development programme for Canada. For years we raised that in the House of Commons, and those in authority ridiculed it. Day before yesterday, Mr. Pearson came out in favour of a national development policy. Why didn't they do it when they Were in power?
This national development policy will create a new sense of national purpose and national destiny. One Canada. One Canada, wherein Canadians will have preserved to them the control of their own economic and political destiny. Sir John A. Macdonald gave his life to this party. He opened the West. He saw Canada from East to West. I see a new Canada - a Canada of the North. What are these new principles? What are our objectives? What do we propose? We propose to assist the provinces, with their co-operation, in the financing and construction of job-creating projects necessary for the new development, where such projects are beyond the resources of the provinces. We will assist the provinces with their cooperation in the conservation of the renewable natural resources. We will aid in projects which are self-liquidating. We will aid in projects which, while not self-liquidating will lead to the development of the national resources for the opening of Canada's northland. We will open that northland for development by improving transportation and communication and by the development of power, by the building of access roads. We will make an inventory of our hydroelectric potential.
Ladies and gentlemen, we now intend to bring in legislation to encourage progressively increasing processing of our domestic raw materials in Canada, rather than shipping them out in raw material form. We will ensure that Canada's national resources are used to benefit Canadians and that Canadians have an opportunity to participate in Canada's development. We have not discouraged foreign investment, but we will encourage the partnership of the foreign investors with the Canadian people....
Canadians, realize your opportunities! This is only the beginning. The future programme for the next five to seven years under a Progressive Conservative Government is one that is calculated to give young Canadians, motivated by a desire to serve, a lift in the heart, faith in Canada's future, faith in her destiny. We will extend aid to economically sound railway projects, such as the Pine Point Railroad to Great Slave Lake. That was promised day before yesterday in the Liberal platform. Why didn't they do it then?
Yes, we will press for hydroelectric development of the Columbia River, which now awaits completion of an agreement with the United States. I mentioned the South Saskatchewan. These are the plans.
This is the message I give to you my fellow Canadians, not one of defeatism. Jobs! Jobs for hundreds of thousands of Canadian people. A new vision! A new hope! A new I soul for Canada.
As far as the Arctic is concerned, how many of you here knew the pioneers in Western Canada. I saw the early days here. Here in Winnipeg in 1909, when the vast movement was taking place into the Western plains, they had imagination. There is a new imagination now. The Arctic. We intend to carry out the legislative programme of Arctic research, to develop Arctic routes, to develop those vast hidden resources the last few years have revealed. Plans to improve the St. Lawrence and the Hudson Bay route. Plans to increase self-government in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. We can see one or two provinces there.
Taxation adjustments to place Canadians on a more equal footing with foreign investors. Encourage foreign investors to make equity stock available to Canadians for purchase, to appoint Canadians to executive positions, to deny the present plan of certain American companies that do not give to Canadian plants their fair share of the export business. Those are some of the things we want to do.
It is for those things that I ask a mandate, not giving you tonight the whole picture at all, by any means but giving you something of the vision as I see it. The reason that I appeal to the Canadian people, a mandate for a clear majority. You set a pace for Manitoba last time. Give us a few more, this.
We need a clear majority to carry out this long-range plan, this great design, this blueprint for the Canada which her resources make possible.
I want to see Canadians given a transcending sense of national purpose, such as Macdonald gave in his day. To safeguard our independence, restore our unity, a policy that will scrupulously respect the rights of the provinces, and at the same time build for the achievement of that one Canada, is the major reason why 35 of our 119 members in the House of Commons are sufficiently young to belong to the Young Progressive Conservatives. They caught that vision. I am not here to condemn others. I am here for the purpose, as a Canadian, to give you a picture of the kind of Canada the long-range plans that we have in mind will bring about....
This party has become the party of national destiny. I hope it will be the party of vision and courage. The party of one Canada, with equal opportunities to all. The only party that can give to youth an Elizabethan sense of grand design - that's my challenge. The faith to venture with enthusiasm to the frontiers of a nation; that faith, that assurance that will be provided with a government strong enough to implement plans for development. To the young men and women of this nation I say, Canada is within your hands. Adventure. Adventure to the nation's utmost bounds, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. The policies that will be placed before the people of Canada in this campaign will be ones that will ensure that today and this century will belong to Canada. The destination is one Canada. To that end I dedicate this party.
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