Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas (1904-1986)
Backgrounder
Thomas Clement “Tommy” Douglas served as Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 leading the first social democratic government in North America. His government developed new administrative structures for economic planning and successfully created an ambitious, innovative program of social reform. It introduced labour and human rights codes. It pioneered a new approach to relations between Indigenous Peoples and government. And it ushered in province-wide rural electrification, highways and telephone service, all while balancing the provincial budget. Douglas was also an important influence on the development of medicare in Canada, building on Saskatchewan’s co-operative values to implement the first publicly-funded, universally-accessible hospital insurance plan in Saskatchewan in 1947, followed later by a plan to cover physician services. These programs set the standard for other provinces and initiated federal cost-sharing to facilitate universal, Canada-wide public health care, which remains deeply tied to Canadian identity and values. A Baptist pastor, fiery orator and committed human rights activist, Douglas was drawn to political life by the human misery he witnessed during the 1930s when Saskatchewan was in the midst of a drought and the Great Depression. He brought compassion, unwavering commitment to social justice and integrity to the problems of ordinary Canadians.
Tommy Douglas was born October 20, 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland, to a religious, working-class family, where debate was encouraged and people from all cultures were welcomed. The family eventually made their way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Tommy witnessed the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, an event that reinforced his commitment to civil liberties. He would go on to become an ordained pastor in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. In 1933 during the Depression years, he helped to found the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) led by J. S. Woodsworth. Through its Regina Manifesto, the CCF called for public health insurance, a pension plan, unemployment insurance, national workplace standards, the expansion of crown corporations, and the adoption of a Canadian constitution with an entrenched charter of rights. This document became a blueprint for his time as premier of Saskatchewan.
Douglas won a federal seat with the CCF in 1935, serving two terms in Ottawa before returning to provincial politics. He became the CCF leader for Saskatchewan in 1942 and two years later his party won 47 out of 52 seats in the provincial election. He would serve five terms as premier. In 1961, he moved into federal politics, as leader of the newly-created New Democratic Party, an alliance between the old CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress. He served as leader until 1971. Although the NDP was slow to make electoral gains, during this time, the party had a major influence in minority government situations, pushing for the adoption of national social welfare programs, such as medicare and old age pensions. Often the conscience of Parliament on civil liberties, Douglas was one of the few who spoke against Cold War intolerance and the invocation of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of 1970.
T. C. “Tommy” Douglas remains a much-loved political figure. Even those who disagree with his politics admire his pragmatism, oratory skills, integrity, and commitment to social justice. But most of all, Tommy Douglas is an icon for medicare, a program that remains closely tied to Canadian identity and values.
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