Tommy Douglas was a Scottish-born Canadian social-democratic politician and Baptist minister. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become the Saskatchewan CCF's leader and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961. His government was the first democratic socialist government in North America, and it introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program. After setting up Saskatchewan's medicare program, he stepped down as premier and ran to lead the newly formed federal New Democratic Party (NDP), the successor party of the National CCF. Douglas was elected as its first federal leader in 1961. Although he never led the party to government, through much of his tenure, the party held the balance of power in the House. He was noted as being the main opposition to the imposition of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis. He resigned as leader the next year, but remained as a Member of Parliament until 1979.
He was awarded many honorary degrees, and a foundation was named for him and his political mentor Major James Coldwell during 1971. In 1981, he was invested into the Order of Canada; and became a member of Canada's Privy Council in 1984. He died in 1986 after a battle with cancer. In 2004, a CBC Television program named him "The Greatest Canadian," based on a viewer-supported survey.
Learn more about him in this informative biography!
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