The Greatest Canadian

Thomas Clement Douglas, (October 20, 1904 – February 24, 1986) was a Scottish born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician. As leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1942 and the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, he led the first socialist government in North America and introduced universal public medicare to Canada. When the CCF united with the Canadian Labor Congress to form the New Democratic Party, he was elected as its first federal leader and served in that post from 1961 to 1971.

The Greatest Canadian


“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
(Winston Churchill)


Cranberry Flats on the Saskatchewan River,
it was the early 1950’s; I was about five.
My parents took me to a CCF political rally,
we brought a picnic lunch, I played on the beach.

We had the honor of meeting Tommy Douglas,
the Premier of Saskatchewan.
He took a special interest in me, since
he noticed I walked with a limp from polio.

He nearly lost his leg to childhood osteomyelitis
because money was scarce for medical treatment.
He pulled up his right trouser leg to the knee
and showed me the scars from his operations.

He said to me, “Don’t ever let your weak leg
hold you back from what you want in life.”
He had become lightweight boxing champ twice
and he showed me his fighting stance.

His experience as a child inspired him to fight
for universal hospitalization and medical care.
He went on to serve five terms as Premier
and was voted the Greatest Canadian.

After six operations and 150 stitches
I can walk because he won the fight for medicare.
More importantly, I gained my fighting spirit
because a great man took the time to inspire a child.