The number of social programs, rights and freedoms we have make Canada a great place to live. Canada was not always so blessed with social programs, most of them only came into being over a 25 year period starting around 1944. The social programs did not just pop into existence, they came from a lot of planning, and fighting against the majority who cared more about money than the needs of less fortunate people. One of these people who fought for Canadians was Tommy C. Douglas.
Tommy Douglas was a great Canadian he had many roles: a minister, a family man, a persuasive public speaker, a comedian, an advocate for the poor, unemployed and farmers. But those roles just combine into one title to most Canadians: a great politician who cared about people. He was not in politics for prestige or the money of political life, he was there because he wanted to make life better for all Canadians. Always able to adapt and change his approach if one method did not work. For Tommy Douglas democratic socialism was really his only political choice because it was the only philosophy that valued all people as much as he did.
From a young age Tommy was being prepared for his later life as a politician. As a child in Scotland he was strongly influenced by both his grandfathers. From his grandfather Andrew Clement Tommy learned the importance of discipline and strong Christian values. From his grandfather Tom he developed strong emotions, intellectualism, independent thinking, and how to enjoy the poetry of Robert Burns) Also as a boy he received guidance in public speaking and story telling from his mother.2 Tommy also listened to the table discussions about politics as well as the social gospel movement. From the social gospel slogan he realized that Christians have a responsibility to be active in social service and social reform.3 All these influences of his growing up would contribute to his political views and effectiveness.
Later in his college years he was involved in activities that strengthened skills he would use as a politician, and convinced him something had to be done for the less fortunate. During his years at Brandon college he was involved in the theatre, debating, and public speaking and had received prizes for his performance.4 in the summer of 1931 Tommy did some graduate sociology field work in Chicago. There he met and talked to people who were living on the streets, people who were more educated than he was. Tommy also had the opportunity to interact with some of the intellectual sociologists whose debates were idealistic but not based on reality of society. It was from that experience that Tommy realized that ideological debates about Marxian theories were not the answer. The poor will best be helped by doing practical things to help them in their lives right now.
When Tommy got back to Weyburn he started doing things to help the community. He turned the church basement into a meeting place for the unemployed and for worker organizations, a place for the poor to get food and clothes, and a place to counsel juvenile delinquents referred to him by a local judge.6 He was instrumental in bringing Weyburn into the ranks of the Independent Labour Party under the guidance of M. J. Coidwell. The Independent Labour Party came together with some other independent farmer and labour parties in 1932 to form the CCF. He then became active with the Labour Party, and became president of the Weyburn Association.7 From there it was not long till the people of Weyburn insisted he become a political candidate.
Tommy’s first successful campaign for election was in 1935. He lost the first campaign he ran in 1934 when he tried running for the provincial seat in the Weyburn riding. ~ His chances of winning that election were not great when you consider his competition: the liberal candidate and winner was a very well known doctor from the area who had brought most of the voters into the world, and the other candidate was a respected pioneer and experienced politician from the area.9 In 1935 Douglas ran for the federal seat in the Weyburn district. He used political strategies involving some political games with the social credit party from Alberta,10 and a well timed persuasive debate against the liberal candidate Ed Young. This time Tommy was able to win the election by 301 votes.ll Once elected he started making a broader impact on improving life for all Canadians.
Tommy Douglas was a good spokesperson for social democracy because he was able to simplify the ideology to terms people could relate to. "He discussed democratic socialism in terms of Christian and moral and ethical principles."12 He did not use Marxian terminology that the common person could not understand, he used language like: "the people" and "the privileged few."13 He was a strong speaker and his jokes and anecdotes were always appropriate and emphasized his main points. Whether he was speaking to farmers, fishermen, labour groups, or politicians he would modify his presentation so each group would clearly understand his message.14
He believed adaptability was necessary when trying to realize socialism. As Tommy’s position was often not the popular position he had to sometimes soften the presentation a little so that other people would listen to him. It was a matter of being able to read the social development of the country and determine what would be an acceptable change to society.l5 Tommy was great at changing his position enough so that it would be accepted, but not so much that it would be sacrificing the ideals.l6 He was a great strategist.
The second world war provided Tommy the evidence that he would often use to explain the rightness and the practicability of the socialist ideals.l7 Before the war the CCF could not convince the government to approve spending of $500 million on a South Saskatchewan Dam, on sewer and water systems, improving homes, and planting trees. But as soon Canada decided to go to war it only took the MPs 15 minutes to vote for the spending of $1 billion for the war effort.l8 As Tommy Douglas often liked pointing out, "We [Canada] went from spending $580 million a year, which was the Canadian budget, to spending over 5 billion dollars a year- and we didn’t borrow a dollar from outside Canada. We put every person to work and put people into uniform who made tanks and guns and planes, who could just as easily have been making houses, building hospitals, recreation centres, daycare centres. We could have done all those things. We didn’t do it."l9
The fact that Canada could finance a war, but would not prioritize fighting poverty with the same amount of money is one of the arguments Tommy most often used to support the socialist economic solution for Canada. Canadian socialists were promoting the Keynesian model of economic planing. The basics of this model are that if the government increases spending at the beginning of a recession this will provide people with jobs. Then because people have money they will be able to consume more, which will provide others with work because of the increased demand. Then the increased demand will result in increased investment in new business, thereby the economy has been stimulated with a minimal amount of government spending. Tommy Douglas supported increased spending.
Another aspect of capitalism Tommy fought against was monopolies. He felt that monopolies need to be eliminated because they lead to a small number of people getting rich while many become poor. The socialist answer to this problem is that companies who are in monopolistic industries should be publicly owned, or make them co- operatives. Industries like oil, and power.20
While Tommy Douglas and his government were in power in Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 they brought in a lot of programs that were not only firsts for Saskatchewan but firsts in North America. One of the more significant ones was hospitalization without needing to pay. Some other important programs were free treatment for Cancer, Tuberculosis, Venereal Disease, and Polio. Also free medical, dental, hospital services and drugs for: old age pensioners and their dependents, blind pensioners, mother’s allowance cases, wards of the government, those receiving social welfare. An important program for unions is the Trade Union Act which guaranteed: the right to bargain collectively; compulsory check- off, defined unfair labour practices; conciliation in disputes. Also for all labour he suggested the 8-hour day, the 44-hour week for most employees, and holidays with pay. He Unionized government employees making their jobs more secure and making for a better civil service. Other things he supported were electricity and running water in rural Saskatchewan.2l These are a few of the great things the Tommy Douglas government accomplished while in power. These programs benefitted not just the citizens of Saskatchewan but influenced changes for all Canadians.
Tommy Douglas was born to make major reform in Canadian society. With his idealism, vision and strategy he was able to make Canada a better place to live. But with him gone Canada is loosing many of the programs he started: Medicare, The Wheat Board, old age pension, and labour power. It is now this generation’s responsibility to force the present governments to maintain the rights and programs he worked so hard to gain for all Canadians. We once again need a visionary, strategist, and representative for people like, Thomas Clement Douglas.
1 Thomas H MeLeod and Ian McLeod, The Road to Jerusalem, (Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1987), p 8.
2.Ibid. p 10.
3.Ibid. p 14.
4.L. D. Lovick, till power is brought to pooling, (Lantzville: Oolichan books, 1979), p 14.
5.Thomas H. McLeod, ... Of Things Past: Tommy’s Weyburn Days NeWest Review May l987,p2. 6JIbid. p2.
7.Lovick, till power is brought to pooling, p 34.
8.McLeod, The Road to Jerusalem, p 46.
9.Ibid.p 50.
10.Ibid. pp 61- 2,67.
11 Loviek, till power is brought to pooling, p 12.
12.Ibid. p21.
13.Ibid. p21.
14.Ed and Pemrose Whelan, Touched by Tommy, (Regina: Whelan Publications, 1990), p 90
15.Lovick, till power is brought to pooling, p 31.
16.Sophia Dixon, Practical Politics and the Regina Manifesto NeWest Review May 1987, p 3
17.Lovick, till power is brought to pooling, p 32.
18.Whelan, Touched by Tommy, p 87.
19.Lovick, till power is brought to pooling, p 35.
20.Ibid. p 39.
21.Whelan, Touched by Tommy, pp 68-9.
Dixon, Sophia. Practical Politics and the Regina Manifesto NeWest REview May 1987.
Lovick, L. D. till power is brought to pooling. Lantzville: Oolichan books, 1979. 11-42
McLeod, Thomas H. ... Of Things Past: Tommy’s Weyburn Days NeWest Review May 1987.
McLeod, Thomas H. and Ian. The road to Jerusalem. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1987.8-67
Whelan, Ed and Pemrose. Touched By Tommy. Regina: Whelan Publications, 1990.