Saskatchewan general election, 1960
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54 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 28 seats needed for a majority |
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4.5Tommy Douglas
Co-operative Commonwealth
Tommy Douglas
Co-operative Commonwealth
The Saskatchewan general election of 1960 was the fourteenth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 8, 1960, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation of Thomas C. Douglas campaigned promising a Medicare, a public medical plan for all of Saskatchewan, and it was re-elected with a slightly increased majority. The CCF won despite opposition from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which told voters that Medicare would take freedom of choice away from patients and would cause doctors to leave the province.
A year later, Douglas passed legislation making Saskatchewan the first province in Canada to have Medicare. The same year, Douglas resigned as leader of the CCF to become leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
In addition to the elections campaigns led by the four main political parties, the College of Physicians and Surgeons launched a full-scale campaign against Medicare.
The Saskatechewan CCF, led by Douglas, proposed "a province-wide medical care program." Douglas assured voters that the only thing that would change about the medical system would be that the doctor would bill the medical care plan instead of billing the patient. The CCF won the election, with 37 seats, one more than in the previous election in 1956.
The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan, led by Martin Pederson, a 38-year-old farmer, won considerable support in the cities (Regina and Saskatoon), but they were not able to win any seats in the legislature. The 15 federal Progressive Conservative Members of Parliament from Saskatchewan campaigned for the provincial party. The main issue for the party was not Medicare but farm prosperity. It promised farmers grant of a $1 per acre ($247/km²) from the province, with a maximum of $100. It claimed that this program would be made possible by assistance from the federal government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, from Saskatchewan himself and a former leader of the Saskatchewan PCs. On Medicare, it only proposed a Royal Commission.
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