Tommy Douglas

Who is Tommy Douglas?

Thomas Clement Douglas was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and emigrated with his family to Winnipeg, Canada. He trained as a Baptist minister before entering politics with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In 1944 he became Premier of Saskatchewan, leading what is often described as the first socialist (democratic-socialist) government in North America, and was re-elected repeatedly until 1961. His government introduced North America's first universal, publicly funded hospital and medical insurance program in Saskatchewan in 1962, a model that was later adopted nationally as Canadian Medicare. He went on to become the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). In 2004 he was voted 'The Greatest Canadian' in a nationwide CBC television poll. He was the grandfather of actor Kiefer Sutherland.

Sources: Doris French Shackleton, 'Tommy Douglas' (1975) · Vincent Lam, 'Tommy Douglas' (Extraordinary Canadians series, 2011) · CBC 'The Greatest Canadian' poll results, 2004