Date of issue: June 29, 2012
Printer: Lowe-Martin
Design: Derwyn Goodall
Tommy Douglas
Thomas (Tommy) Douglas was born in 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland. His family immigrated to Winnipeg in 1911. Before the move, the 6-year-old Douglas cut his knee and developed a wound that led to chronic osteomyelitis. After several unsuccessful operations, he faced amputation. The Winnipeg surgeon R.J. Smith agreed to perform a leg-sparing procedure at no cost, so long as his students could observe. The surgery was a success and provided the basis for Douglas’s belief that quality medical care should be available to all Canadians, regardless of ability to pay.
Although Douglas studied theology and sociology, his professional career became politics. In 1934, he participated in the development of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), eventually becoming its first elected member of Parliament. He became leader of the Saskatchewan CCF in 1942 and, two years later, Provincial Premier. During his first term, he introduced medical insurance reforms that became the basis for the 1962 Medical Care Insurance Act (“medicare”). This in turn led to the universal healthcare system that Canada currently has in place. Douglas died in 1986 in Ottawa.
The Stamp
The stamp was issued on the 50th anniversary of the passing of Saskatchewan’s 1962 Medical Care Insurance Act. It shows an image of Douglas after a photograph by Yousuf Karsh, with illustrations of a stethoscope, a stylized ECG tracing, and two medical procedures taking place in the background. The first-day cover shows Douglas the politician. Note the stethoscope postmark.
