Woodrow Stanley Lloyd

Woodrow Stanley Lloyd

Woodrow Stanley Lloyd (born July 16, 1913 in Webb , Saskatchewan , † April 7, 1972 in Seoul , South Korea ) was a Canadian politician and trade unionist . He was Prime Minister of Saskatchewan Province from November 7, 1961 to May 2, 1964. During his tenure, he implemented the most important reform project of his predecessor Tommy Douglas , the creation of a health system that was free of charge in all areas. He was then until 1970 as chairman of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party opposition leader in the legislative assembly of Saskatchewan .

Profession and Provincial Politics

Lloyd was the youngest of twelve children born to Welsh immigrants. In 1929 he enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan Engineering School . Because of the global economic crisis , he was unable to continue his studies after two semesters. Instead, he first worked on his parents' farm for a year and then trained as a teacher. In 1933 he joined the newly formed Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation . From 1940 to 1944 he was president of this organization.

On June 15, 1944, Lloyd was elected as a candidate for the Socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in the legislative assembly of Saskatchewan , the provincial parliament. He represented the Biggar constituency until his death . Prime Minister Tommy Douglas named him Minister of Education after the CCF's overwhelming election victory. At the time, he was the youngest person to hold a ministerial post in Canada.

Over the next 16 years, Lloyd completely rebuilt the province's education system. Over 5,000 local school councils have been grouped into 56 units to facilitate funding and provide equal educational opportunities for students across the province. In June 1960, Lloyd became the provincial finance minister. Tommy Douglas resigned as Prime Minister on November 7, 1961 to preside over the successor party to the CCF, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and to return to federal politics. Lloyd then took over the chairmanship of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) and the office of head of government.

prime minister

It was left to Lloyd to complete the most significant reform project of its predecessor, the creation of a provincial health care system free of charge in all areas. In July 1962, the province's doctors, with the support of the American Medical Association, went on strike for more than three weeks for fear of massive income losses. The strike failed because the provincial government flew in doctors from Great Britain to provide emergency care. A representative of the British National Health Service acted as mediator and was able to reach compromises on some contentious points.

The success of the healthcare reform initiated by Douglas and continued by Lloyd soon had an impact on federal politics. The Conservative Prime Minister of Canada, John Diefenbaker , set up a commission headed by Emmett Matthew Hall , a Saskatchewan-born Supreme Court Justice . Hall recommended the nationwide introduction of the Saskatchewan state health insurance model in 1964. Lester Pearson's liberal minority government implemented this in 1966, with the federal government and the provinces each assuming half the cost.

further activities

The doctors' strike of 1962 had led to persistent dissatisfaction among the population. The NDP lost the provincial elections on April 22, 1964. Ten days later, Lloyd turned over to the Liberal Ross Thatcher and became opposition leader. He held this position until 1970. After his final withdrawal from politics in 1971, Lloyd was appointed representative of the United Nations Development Program in South Korea . A few months later he died in Seoul at the age of 58.

literature

• Gordon Barnhart : Saskatchewan Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Canadian Plains Research Center, Regina 2004. ISBN 0889771642 .

Web links

• Woodrow Stanley Lloyd ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Article Woodrow Stanley Lloyd in the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan