TOMMY DOUGLAS

In November 2004, Canadians voted Tommy Douglas, father of Medicare, the country's national health care system, the "Greatest Canadian." Over 1.2 million votes were cast by the Canadian public via telephone, e-mail or text messaging in a nationwide contest, sponsored by CBC Television, to name the greatest Canadian. More than 4,000 schools across Canada participated in the contest and Toronto declared his birthday Tommy Douglas Day. For more information on Tommy Douglas and the Greatest Canadian contest, click here.

Thomas C. Douglas is remembered as the father of Canadian Medicare, the national health insurance system that is a model for single payer advocates in the United States and a source of pride for Canadians. Douglas was also one of the founders and the first leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the head of the government of Saskatchewan, the first socialist government elected in Canada. By the time of his death in 1986, he had become a major figure in Canadian history and one of the country's most respected visionary politicians.

Born in Falkirk, Scotland in 1904, Douglas moved with his family to the Canadian city of Winnipeg in 1919. That year he witnessed the Winnipeg General Strike. At the age of 15 he left school to become a printer's apprentice. Increasingly involved in church work, he decided to become a minister in 1924. During his six years at Brandon College, he was exposed to the "Social Gospel." His working-class roots and the religious views of his family provided a strong background for his politics and his faith.

When Douglas moved to Weyburn in Saskatchewan after his ordination in 1930, he encountered the widespread hardships caused by depression and drought. He soon became involved in ministering to people's physical and spiritual needs, while he pursued his academic studies in Christian ethics. These studies, along with his experience of the Great Depression, led him to the conclusion that political action was necessary to alleviate human suffering.

In 1931 he helped create a local branch of the Independent Labor Party, and two years later he attended the founding convention of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a coalition of socialist, farmer and labor parties. Douglas ran unsuccessfully in the 1934 election in Saskatchewan. Friends then convinced him that he should be a CCF candidate in the Parliamentary election of 1935. This time he won.

Douglas' political convictions were further strengthened during World War II. He rejected the argument that money could not be found to put people to work since money could and was found to finance a war. During his first two terms in Parliament Douglas earned the reputation of a skillful and witty debater. He claimed as his constituency the under-privileged and the exploited, and often took unpopular stands in defense of civil liberties, including opposition to the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the second World War.

In 1944 Douglas resigned his seat in Ottawa to lead the CCF in Saskatchewan. The party won and Tommy Douglas served as provincial premier for 17 years. He became a symbol of what the democratic socialist alternative could deliver. His government was innovative and efficient and pioneered many programs that would later be implemented by others, notably in the field of social services.

The father of Canadian health care envisioned, built and tirelessly promoted the country's national system of health care. In 1959, Douglas proposed a universal, pre-paid, publicly administered health care system that would be accepted by both the providers and the receivers of medical services and would offer high quality care, including preventive care. A quarter century later, these principles were finally implemented in the Canada Health Act of 1984.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada was founded in 1961 at a convention in Ottawa which brought together the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and affiliated unions of the Canadian Labour Congress. Douglas was chosen as its first leader, serving until 1971.

Universally regarded as the left's most eloquent spokesman, Douglas inspired and motivated NDP voters. He knew how to explain his political ideals in moral, ethical and religious terms and with a sense of humor. For example, in a popular speech, Douglas described a land — Mouseland — where unhappy mice were ruled by a succession of white cats, black cats, striped cats and spotted cats until one day, one lone mouse dared to stand up and say, "Mice should vote for mice!"

Today the struggle to protect Canada's national health insurance system continues. Shirley Douglas, actress, spokesperson for the Canadian Health Coalition and the daughter of Tommy Douglas, remembers the fight her father waged in the 1960s to win Medicare. He warned Canadians not to take it for granted because the same people and institutions that opposed the creation of Medicare would always try to take it away.

Following in the footsteps of Tommy Douglas, the Labor Party's Just Health Care campaign calls for national health insurance that takes the profit out of health care and guarantees coverage for all U.S. residents from birth to death. We will settle for nothing less.