John G. Diefenbaker Elementary School

John G. Diefenbaker Elementary School (1981- ) was built to relieve the pressure of increased student population in the southwest corner of Lulu Island.

John G. Diefenbaker Elementary School in 2004. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2004 43 145.

John Diefenbaker (1895-1979) was the flamboyant lawyer from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, who became Progressive Conservative leader in 1956 and then won the federal election in 1957 and 1958. He was the first Conservative Prime Minister after World War II and after 22 years of Liberal party rule.

The fact that he was a westerner, the fact that he stood up to the Americans when they threatened Canada's sovereignty by trying to place their nuclear weapons on our territory, and the fact that the 1960 Bill of Rights occurred under his tenure, made him a hero in the eyes of many westerners. No doubt, he was a man of distinction in the eyes of the School Board of the time.