Fifty years ago, Saskatchewan changed the way Canadians came to view health care. Medicare was a plan that would provide health services to families, regardless of their ability to pay. The plan started here in Saskatchewan, but would eventually spread across Canada.

The election of T.C. Douglas and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, or CCF, in 1944, would change Saskatchewan forever. Of their great contributions, the biggest may be the Hospital Insurance Act of 1947. It guaranteed every citizen of the province hospital care without a fee.

Later, in 1959, the government announced a medicare plan for Saskatchewan that would provide universal, pre-paid, publicly administered health care to all its residents. And in 1961, the Douglas government introduced the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Act.

But it was not an easy road. Doctors across the province revolted against the act. Their main concerns were a loss of professional independence and possible political interference.

Dr. Harold Dalgleish, the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons said in 1962 that “the great majority of the residents of Saskatchewan, who are able to pay for their own insurance premiums should continue to do so.”

Despite pressure to rescind the bill, Premier Woodrow Lloyd would not back down.

“We are not of course willing to move from the fundament basics of the plan; that is that it has to be all inclusive and that it covers all the people of Saskatchewan, and that it has to be paid for by all the people of Saskatchewan,” responded Lloyd in 1962.

The implementation of Medicare on July 1, 1962 was a landmark day in Saskatchewan, but the province was far from celebrating. Most of Saskatchewan’s doctors went on strike. They closed offices in protest, causing chaos for their patients and the government.

Dr. Sam Landa played an important role during the strike. When many of his colleagues walked off the job, he helped set up community clinics, and made sure there were doctors to handle emergency cases.

“I had been pressured seriously by doctors who were telling me that if this emergency services goes on longer than a few days they would withdraw their volunteer services and now be faced with an even worse shortage of medical personnel,” Landa recalls.

Nurses had also taken sides in the dispute. Zenny Burton supported Medicare. “It was an interesting experience because many of the nurses were not in favour of Medicare and I found it difficult at times when I’d go down to the lunch room for a meal and I would wonder if everyone would get up from the table I was sitting at or if they didn’t want me sitting with them. It was a difficult time.”

As the strike continued, the dispute began attracting international attention.

On July 11, 1962, a mass rally in support of doctors was held at the legislative building in Regina. More than 30,000 people were expected at this rally, but only a fraction actually showed up. It was considered a turning point in the dispute that was proving to be a losing battle for doctors.

John Burton worked for Woodrow Lloyd. “Woodrow Lloyd said to me when we travelled together on one occasion if there had been a pro-medicare rally in Regina at that time there would have been blood on the streets of Regina.”

The strike ended on July 23, 1962, after the Saskatoon Agreement was signed, and the rest of the country watched closely as Saskatchewan slowly accepted Medicare.

In 1964, Supreme Court Justice Emmett Hall presented Ottawa with a report on health care. “As a nation, we now take the necessary legislative organization and financial decisions to make all the fruits of the health sciences available to all our residents without hindrance of any kind.”

Hall’s report suggested a country-wide program similar to the one in Saskatchewan. And by the early 1970’s, Medicare was adopted across Canada.

In 1980, Tommy Douglas said that “Health care lies at the base of human happiness.”

Now, 50 years since the introduction of health care, it’s inevitable that our Medicare system will continue to evolve. But its survival will depend on a commitment from governments, and ultimately the people of Saskatchewan and Canada.