The False Historical Pretences of Canadas Medicare

Tommy Douglas is surrounded by supporters as he arrives at the Palace Theatre to address an NDP rally in Hamilton, Ont., on June 11, 1968. The Canadian PressCommentaryTommy Douglas continues to be celebrated as a national hero, referred to in media reports as the “Father of Canadian Medicare” and the “Greatest Canadian.” He has schools named after him, a commemorative stamp, a bronze statue in his hometown of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the National Film Board’s 1986 film, “Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame,” and his very own cringey, inaccurate CBC drama, “Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story,” which even former NDP Premier Allan Blakeney slammed as “seriously flawed.”)