The Birth of Medicare
From Saskatchewan's breakthrough to Canada-wide coverage

http://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-birth-of-medicare
Date Written:  2012-07-03
Publisher:  Canadian Dimension
Year Published:  2012
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX20829

An account of the history of medicare in Canada, from its birth in Saskatchewan to its adoption nation-wide.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

It is not surprising that the first breakthrough would be in Saskatchewan. The province, which was the home base of "agrarian socialism," had been governed since 1944 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) led by T.C. (Tommy) Douglas. The CCF had originally intended to socialize much of the economy but, like social democratic formations elsewhere, had retreated from this position and by the 1950s concentrated on building a welfare state within a mixed economy. Medical care had always been a centerpiece of its welfare state program and by 1959 considerable strides had been made.