Today is Tommy Douglas Day!
Every year, October 20 is a day for us to celebrate the contributions of Thomas “Tommy” Clement Douglas: the "Greatest Canadian" and the man who brought universal public Medicare to Canada. It is a day to recommit ourselves to protecting and strengthening our invaluable public health care system.
Today also happens to be my 42nd birthday.
And what I really want this year—my birthday wish—is that you take a moment to join us in the fight to save our public health care system by getting or renewing your Friends of Medicare Membership for 2026.
42 years ago today, I was born in rural southeast Saskatchewan where universal health care was the norm, thanks to the work of Tommy Douglas and the many activists who tirelessly fought for Medicare. I am the first generation in my family to have lived their whole life under universal Medicare, but I’m increasingly worried whether future generations will be able to say the same.
Because our health care system is under threat right now.
Our struggles are rooted in wide-spread short staffing. Yet rather than focus on solving our workforce challenges, we have a hostile provincial government with attacking our system with an aggressive agenda of destruction and privatization—an agenda increasingly clouded by allegations of corruption.
Which is why we need your support more than ever before.
We are touring the province listening to Albertans in their communities as we continue to grow our network of local chapters. We are doing the work to ensure Friends of Medicare can reach as many Albertans as we continue to be a powerful collective voice for change. But we can’t do it without you.
And you know at Friends of Medicare we don’t just fight to keep what we have; we continue to work to achieve Tommy’s dream of a truly universal Medicare, which includes our important wins like expanding dental care and continuing the fight for universal Pharmacare coverage.
Albertans continue to make it clear that we want stronger public health care. By working together we can stop the destruction of our most valued public service. A plan to protect and rebuild our public health care system is ready to go, we just need to do the organizing work to get us there.
Together, I know we can achieve this.
I ask you to make my birthday wish come true: secure your 2026 Friends of Medicare membership, make a one-time donation, or become a monthly donor today!
In Solidarity,
Chris Gallaway
Executive Director