How and why was universal health coverage implemented so early in a poverty-stricken province in Canada? Why was its design so faithfully replicated in the national standards that ultimately shaped Medicare across the rest of Canada?
Seeking to answer these questions, Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada explores the history of universal health care through the life of Canadian politician Tommy Douglas, identifying the pivotal moments and decisions that led to the establishment of Medicare in Canada.
The book traces the origins of Medicare back to the 1930s Depression and its devastating impact on the Prairie populations. Marchildon examines how Tommy Douglas and a new generation of reformers, radicalised by the Depression, prioritised socialised health care. The book reveals how, as the provincial party leader, Douglas leveraged support from both local and external allies to rapidly implement universal hospital insurance and lay the groundwork for a new health system.
Despite strong opposition from physician and business lobbies, Douglas continued to pressure the government for federal cost-sharing of universal health coverage. Drawing on archival sources including speeches, television broadcasts, and cabinet documents, Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada illuminates how Douglas's vision, leadership, and coalition-building among unions were crucial to the successful establishment of Medicare in Canada.
By:
Gregory Marchildon
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 41mm
Weight: 1.040kg
ISBN: 9781487560430
ISBN 10: 1487560435
Pages: 728
Publication Date: 14 April 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Medicare: The Agony and the Ecstasy 2. The Making of a Preacher-Politician 3. Federal Member of Parliament, 1935–1944 4. Sigerist, Sheps, and Socialism 5. Rise and Fall of the Green Book Proposals 6. Hospitalization in Saskatchewan 7. National Health Grants and New Frontiers 8. Next Year Country 9. National Influence, 1948–1958 10. Setting the Political Agenda Once More 11. The Thompson Committee and the New Party 12. Repudiation 13. Doctors’ Strike and the Cost of Peace 14. The Hall Commission and the Leftward Tilt of Canadian Politics 15. National Medicare 16. Defender of Medicare Conclusion Bibliography Index
Gregory P. Marchildon is a professor emeritus at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and the founding director of the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
Reviews for Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada
""Gregory P. Marchildon is the leading expert on the history of Medicare in Canada. In this exciting new contribution, he provides a comprehensive account of the making of Medicare in Saskatchewan and beyond. This engaging book should be read by all historians of health and politics in Canda.""--Catherine Carstairs, Professor of History, University of Guelph ""Marchildon has made the story of Medicare into a historical page turner. Blending prairie pragmatism with a political vision, Marchildon takes us inside the mind of Tommy Douglas to explain a signature piece of Canadian history in a compelling narrative that may leave readers surprised by how much this is a story of faith and tenacity.""--Erika Dyck, Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice, University of Saskatchewan ""This book offers an in-depth history of the emergence of Medicare in Canada, centred on a detailed and illuminating discussion of Tommy Douglas's actions and ideas. Superbly researched, accessibly written, and nicely illustrated with archival pictures, this book is a labour of love that everyone interested in the development of Medicare in Canada should read and engage with.""--Daniel Béland, Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and James McGill Professor of Political Science, McGill University
