John Stewart McDiarmid (1882-1965)

Businessman, MP (1926-1930), MLA (1933-1936), MLA (1937-1940), MLA (1941-1945), MLA (1946-1949), MLA (1950-1953), Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (1953-1960).

Born at Perthshire, Scotland on 25 December 1882, son of Peter McDiarmid and Elizabeth Stewart, he came to Canada in 1887, spending his early years on a farm near Portage la Prairie. He later established himself as a lumber merchant, forming the McDiarmid Lumber Company.

He served as an Alderman for the City of Winnipeg in 1925, a Liberal Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South from 1926 to 1930, and a member of the Manitoba Legislature from 1932 to 1953. He was Provincial Secretary in 1939, and Minister of Mines and Natural Resources from 1932 to 1952. He developed new mining industries during the Depression, established conservation measures to revive the fur trade, and promoted tourism and recreation within Manitoba.

In 1957, he was inducted into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

He died at Winnipeg on 5 June 1965.

There are papers at the Archives of Manitoba.

Sources:

Profile revised: 1 January 2010

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