John G. Diefenbaker

The Canadian North came to play a central role in John Diefenbaker's campaign rhetoric in early 1957, when he distanced himself from the incumbent St. Laurent government's Arctic policy. At his campaign kick-off in Winnipeg, Diefenbaker lambasted Ottawa with ignoring Canada's Arctic. He tapped extensively into the Canadian cultural and historical repertoire, laying out his "Northern Vision": "We are fulfilling the vision and the dream of Canada's first prime minister - Sir John A. Macdonald. But Macdonald saw Canada from East to West. I see a new Canada. A CANADA OF THE NORTH!" The North assumed the role of a transformative force, reshaping a Canada that draws upon a hybrid construct comprised of a founding figure fused with the character-molding and -enhancing features of the Arctic (Grace).