Thomas Clement Douglas was a Canadian social-democratic politician and Baptist minister.
Background
Thomas Clement Douglas was born in Falkirk, Scotland on October 20, 1904. He was the son of Annie (née Clement) and Thomas Douglas, an iron moulder who fought in the Boer War. In 1910, his family immigrated to Canada, where they settled in Winnipeg.
Education
Thomas Douglas was educated at Brandon College, Manitoba, and at McMaster University and the University of Chicago, later being ordained a minister of the Baptist Church.
Career
Interested in social and political problems, Douglas became Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) candidate and was elected to the House of Commons in 1935. Reelected in 1940, he resigned in 1944 to become CCF candidate for the premiership of Saskatchewan. His party was victorious and on July 10, 1944, he was sworn into office as head of the first socialist government in Canada. He served as premier until 1961. In that year he became a founder and the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) formed by an alliance between CCF and labor. He was elected to the national House of Commons in 1962 and served until 1979. By the late 1960's his NDP was the third-ranking party in the House. He resigned as leader of the NDP in 1971.
Achievements
Membership
House of Commons of Canada, Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Connections
In 1930 Douglas married to Irma Dempsey, a music student at Brandon College. They had one daughter, actress Shirley Douglas.