Tommy Douglas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Douglas, c. 1950s | |
| Leader of the New Democratic Party | |
| In office 3 August 1961 – 24 April 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Hazen Argue (as leader of the CCF) |
| Succeeded by | David Lewis |
| 7th Premier of Saskatchewan | |
| In office 10 July 1944 – 7 November 1961 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Preceded by | William John Patterson |
| Succeeded by | Woodrow Lloyd |
| Leader of the Saskatchewan CCF | |
| In office 17 July 1942 – 3 November 1961 | |
| Preceded by | John Brockelbank |
| Succeeded by | Woodrow Lloyd |
| Parliamentary constituencies | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament | |
| In office 10 February 1969 – 22 May 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Colin Cameron |
| Succeeded by | Riding dissolved |
| Constituency | Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands |
| In office 22 October 1962 – 25 June 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Erhart Regier |
| Succeeded by | Riding dissolved |
| Constituency | Burnaby—Coquitlam |
| In office 14 October 1935 – 15 June 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Edward James Young |
| Succeeded by | Eric Bowness McKay |
| Constituency | Weyburn |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for Weyburn | |
| In office 15 March 1944 – 7 November 1961 | |
| Preceded by | George Crane |
| Succeeded by | Junior Staveley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Clement Douglas 20 October 1904 Camelon, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | 24 February 1986 (aged 81) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Resting place | Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa |
| Political party | CCF (1935–1961) NDP (1961–1986) |
| Spouse |
Irma Dempsey (m. 1930) |
| Children | 2, including Shirley Douglas |
| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Baptist minister |
| Signature |  |
| Part of a series on |
| Christian socialism |
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Thomas Clement Douglas PC CC SOM (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as the seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist minister, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become Leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan. His government introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program.
After setting up Saskatchewan's universal healthcare program, Douglas stepped down and ran to lead the newly formed federal New Democratic Party (NDP), the successor party of the national CCF. He was elected as its first federal leader in 1961. Although Douglas never led the party to government, through much of his tenure the party held the balance of power in the House of Commons. 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.
Douglas was awarded many honorary degrees, and a foundation was named for him and his political mentor M. J. Coldwell in 1971. In 1981, he was invested into the Order of Canada, and he became a member of Canada's privy council in 1984, two years before his death. In 2004, a CBC Television program named Tommy Douglas "The Greatest Canadian", based on a Canada-wide, viewer-supported survey.