The 1960 Saskatchewan provincial election

Saskatchewan's fourteenth general election on 8 June 1960 was a defining moment in the evolution of universal health care in the province, for Tommy Douglas' Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government needed a mandate from the people to proceed with its controversial medicare scheme. The election campaign signalled the Douglas government's renewed commitment to more active involvement in health care and heralded an era of progressive politics that manifested itself in more socially active governments across the nation. Equally important, the 1960 general election was Saskatchewan's first contemporary provincial election in terms of political issues.;The main election issues of 1960 centred on the economic and political changes that had taken place in Saskatchewan during the late 1950s and the escalating conflict between the Douglas government and the province's medical profession. Over the course of the campaign, the doctors' vehement opposition to the CCF's proposed medicare scheme solidified medical care as the paramount election issue. The medicare debate evolved into an impassioned and divisive election issue with important long-term political consequences. Moreover, the clash between the Douglas government and the province's medical profession had a profound impact on the course and outcome of the election and on the history of the province.;The 1960 provincial election was the first to bring to the forefront political issues that are still relevant to Saskatchewan voters. Health care; the "farm crisis"; slow industrial, economic and population growth; opposition criticism of government neglect of rural Saskatchewan and socio-economic problems in Northern Saskatchewan continue to be contentious issues in our contemporary political culture. While much has changed in the province over the past forty years, much remains the same.