Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas was born on October 20, 1904, in Falkirk, Scotland, and later became a Canadian citizen whose working life spanned the pulpit, the print shop, and the floor of Parliament. His early years in Scotland gave way to a new life in Canada, where he trained at Brandon University, McMaster University, and the University of Chicago, eventually taking up work as a Baptist minister and printer before turning to electoral politics.
Douglas entered federal politics in 1935, winning a seat in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. From there his career shifted to provincial government, and in 1944 he became the seventh premier of Saskatchewan, a post he held until 1961. During those seventeen years in office, his government introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program — the work that would become the cornerstone of his public legacy and is listed among his notable contributions simply as Medicare. In 1961 he stepped down as premier to lead the newly formed New Democratic Party, a role he held until 1971.
The honours Douglas received over the course of his life reflected the breadth of his career across religion, politics, and public health policy. He was appointed to the King's Privy Council for Canada, made a Companion of the Order of Canada, and received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. He was also inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and designated a Person of National Historic Significance. In a public vote, he was named The Greatest Canadian.
Douglas died on February 24, 1986, in Ottawa, Ontario. His designation as a Person of National Historic Significance stands as one of the formal recognitions Canada extended to a man who had moved from a Scottish industrial town to the highest levels of Canadian provincial and federal politics.
Quotes by Tommy Douglas
I'm sure that the standard of public morality we've helped build will force government in Canada to approve complete health insurance.
Houdini used to pull rabbits out of a hat, but he never tried to make a living out of selling them when he had pulled them out of the hat.
Those who want to burn books are either afraid of the ideas contained within the covers or they haven’t the courage to stand up for the views which they themselves profess to hold.
We agree with the statement contained in the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, written by Pope Leo XIII, that “anything which dominates the life of the community should be owned by the community.” That is the basis upon which we believe there should be government ownership of monopolistic enterprises.
I am proud that my daughter believes, as I do, that hungry children should be fed whether they are Black Panthers or White Republicans.
The Liberals talk about a stable government but we don’t know how bad the stable is going to smell.
I don’t mind being a symbol but I don’t want to become a monument. There are monuments all over the Parliament Buildings and I’ve seen what the pigeons do to them.
To accept the principal that “all power proceeds from the barrel of a gun” is to accept a society which will be dominated by those with the biggest guns.
Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it’s doing in the Maritimes.
We are all in this world together, and the only test of our character that matters is how we look after the least fortunate among us. How we look after each other, not how we look after ourselves. That’s all that really matters, I think.