Tommy Douglas
Source: Wikipedia: Tommy Douglas
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇬🇧 Great Britain • 0 views

Tommy Douglas 🇬🇧

Thomas Clement Douglas (Known as "The Greatest Canadian")
Premier of Saskatchewan (1944–1961), First Federal Leader of the NDP, Father of Medicare
Born Oct 20, 1904 🇬🇧 Falkirk, Great Britain
Passed Away Feb 24, 1986 Ottawa, Canada
Lifespan 81 years old
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"Man can direct his own destiny. We do not have to live in a world where the strong exploit the weak."

Archival Overview

Revered Baptist minister and democratic socialist leader who headed the first social democratic government in North America in Saskatchewan and established universal, publicly funded healthcare (Medicare).

Biographical Record

Douglas witnessed the devastation of the Depression among prairie farmers and entered politics with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). Elected Premier of Saskatchewan in 1944, he balanced seventeen consecutive budgets while electrifying rural farms and creating public auto insurance.

In 1962, Douglas stood firm against a bitter doctors' strike to launch North America's first universal, tax-funded health insurance plan, which served as the model for Canadian Medicare. Chosen as inaugural leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961, he was voted 'The Greatest Canadian' in a 2004 national CBC poll.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Beechwood Cemetery
Ottawa, Canada
GPS: 45.4450, -75.6600
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