Prairie Giant: the Tommy Douglas Story
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Study Guide
Prepared for Teachers of Junior High and Senior High School
June 2006
This Study Guide was researched and written by Marg Gardiner,
prairiegiant@shaw.ca
About this Guide
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Storytelling is the tool societies have used for millenniums to preserve collective memory.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) promoted the Prairie Giant as a ‘real story about
real people’. Without historical context, viewers would not be able to distinguish between truth
and falsehood, between truth and fantasy. Film, as a medium, is a cultural force that cannot be
denied. Viewers of the film may believe it to be reflective of real historical events.
The CBC was proud of their Tommy Douglas miniseries. However, in Saskatchewan,
there was a firestorm over Prairie Giant: the Tommy Douglas Story. Newspapers, radio talk
shows, internet blogs, and the Saskatchewan legislature commented on the fallacies and
mythology which formed the story line for the CBC – Minds Eye Productions mini-series. Prairie
Giant has been called many things by journalists, historians and politicians: travesty, scandalous,
propaganda, tawdry example of unworthy fiction, malicious.
The photography of Saskatchewan in Prairie Giant is striking, and some of the
performances are outstanding. As an historical document, however, the film is sorely lacking.
Former NDP Premier Allan Blakeney was one of the first to speak about the film’s historical
shortcomings.
The CBC and Minds Eye, as producers, initially claimed that the film was well researched.
As the inaccuracies were identified and the furore in Saskatchewan grew, Minds Eye’s defence
became that, in a docudrama, they have creative licence to do what they wish. Until recently,
the CBC stood by the research for the film. However, in pulling Prairie Giant from scheduled
broadcasts and halting home and educational sales, the CBC has now acknowledged the
mischaracterization of the Rt. Hon. James Garfield Gardiner in the film.
On June 6, 2006, Trustees from the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division advised
against schools showing the film because it is based on fiction and not fact. It was suggested
that the film is political propaganda. Brad Wall, Leader of the Saskatchewan Party, in a letter to
School trustees said “I write today regarding the movie “Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story”
and the ensuing public discourse regarding the factual errors contained therein… There has been
much public debate regarding some of the blatantly historically inaccurate information conveyed in
“Prairie Giant”, specifically with reference to the movie’s portrayal of former Saskatchewan Premier
J.G. Gardiner... The historical inaccuracies of the film have been cited by no less authorities than
former Premier Allan Blakeney… and political science professor David Smith… In light of the above, I
would request that the film “Prairie Giant” not be shown in schools in the … School Division as the
film does not accurately portray a very significant period of time in our province’s rich history.”
Although the inaccuracies and fallacies in the film are now widely acknowledged, some
schools may choose to use the film. This Study Guide provides insight into the controversy over
the film and identifies discussion points which may assist teachers in making use of Prairie Giant
as an example of the power of the medium of film. Topics identified in the Study Guide include
the power of film, propaganda, medicare, and specific Saskatchewan historical events such as
the Estevan Riot of 1931 and the KKK.
The Prairie Giant introduces several of Saskatchewan’s politicians. Saskatchewan’s
three most prominent public personas of the 20th century were Jimmy Gardiner, Tommy Douglas
and John Diefenbaker, who are treated very differently within the film.
The Prairie Giant Study Guide provides teachers with discussion points centred on
historical elements introduced by the film. It also provides discussion points for review of the
role of the state in creating ‘History’, and the role and obligations of public broadcasters such as
the CBC.
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Historical Context: Saskatchewan 1925 - 1960
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In 1901, there were about 90,000 people in Saskatchewan. By 1929, there were about
one million people. There were waves of immigrants during this time: Germans, Russians,
Mennonites, Ukrainians, and others. There were numerous small French communities.
There was ethnic and religious based unrest in the mid/late 1920s. The KKK had
thousands (Sask estimates range from 20-50,000) of members. There were many new
immigrant communities.
Social services were delivered at the municipal level. Municipal governments had
property tax. The provincial government, in lieu of resource ownership, received compensation
transfers from the federal government. Health services were municipally based. By 1930, the
police were also municipal, with the RCMP under Provincial contract.
Politically, the Liberal party had been in office since 1905. In the 1920s, there were
several new parties being created on the prairies. The 1929 election did not result in a majority
government. James Anderson, as head of the Conservative Party, was Premier from 1929-1934,
and formed a government with the Progressive Party and Independents, which was referred to
as the Co-operative Government. Jimmy Gardiner was leader of the Liberal opposition party.
Neither Gardiner nor Douglas was known to be associated with the Estevan riot of 1931.
Relief for farmers:
Throughout the whole period of the drought and depression of the 1930s, there was
some form of social assistance and/or debt relief. There were provincial programs of relief, and
federal financial/debt relief was initiated in 1936. Agricultural practices to ‘fix the dryland
problems’ of the farms, particularly in the Palliser Triangle, were initiated under the umbrella of
the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act (PRFA). The Prairie Farm Assistance Act (PFAA) provided
financial relief to farmers. Prairie support/relief was one of the great legacies of Gardiner. His
work in the late 1930s was lauded by Coldwell.
Coldwell, and Douglas, worked with Gardiner on many matters. They cooperated
extensively throughout the late 1940s and the 1950s.
Other historical Issues:
Electrical power: The decision to have state owned power rather than private sector power,
which led to the creation of the Saskatchewan Power Commission, was made in 1928.
Natural resources: In the film, Douglas and Fines talk about natural resources and say they
belong to Saskatchewan. This reference is significant. When the Prairie Provinces entered
confederation, they were not provided with resource ownership rights. However, Gardiner
fought for (conceded at a Dominion-Provincial meeting in 1927) and negotiated the Natural
Resources Transfer Act that gave Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba resource ownership
rights, and put them on a level playing field with all earlier partners of confederation.
Doctors: Lord Taylor, a British physician, brokered the end of the doctors' strike. His settlement
fundamentally changed the originally proposed Act.
Public Health Care: Medical and hospital care was provided at the municipal level in several
areas of Saskatchewan long before 1962. The Swift Current area established their well-known
system in 1945 and their unique responsibility continued through the 1980s. Legislation to
provide public health care at the municipal level dates back to the 1920s.
Old Age Pensions: These pensions were implemented in 1928.
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Saskatchewan’s Political Greats
The Prairie Giant introduces several politicians. Saskatchewan’s three most prominent
public personas of the 20th century were Jimmy Gardiner, Tommy Douglas and John
Diefenbaker. Although the lives and political careers of these Canadians overlapped in time,
their political leadership was in adjacent times as all three went from provincial to federal or from
federal to provincial arenas:
Independent Labour Party, Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, and New Democratic Party
Douglas (1904-1986); 1932 co-founder of ILP, lost 1934; federal member CCF 1935-1944;
provincial member CCF 1944-1961; federal member NDP 1962-1979.
Liberal
Gardiner (1883-1962); provincial member, 1914-1935; federal member 1935-1958, lost 1958;
Conservative and Progressive Conservative
Diefenbaker (1895-1979); lost federal elections 1925/26; lost provincial election 1929 (provincial
leader from 1936-1940); federal member 1940-1979;
Other politicians introduced include WL Mackenzie King, MJ Coldwell, JS Woodsworth,
C Fines, and W Lloyd.
Portrayal of Tommy Douglas
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Prairie Giant is presented as a story about Tommy Douglas. Although the film captures
many of Douglas’ personal characteristics and political history there are many glaring omissions.
For example, on a personal level, the film introduces only one of Douglas’ two daughters, and
places Douglas at his Saskatchewan cottage when he died. Politically there were two defining
moments in Douglas’ career which were not identified, namely the 1955 Mossbank Debate with
Ross Thatcher on the success or failure of the many crown corporations created by the Douglas
government, and his stirring speech in the House of Commons concerning the declaration of the
War Measures Act in 1970. (Both events are easily researched via google.)
Questions:
1)
Why would the film not include Douglas’ daughter Joan?
2)
Why would the film have Douglas dying in Saskatchewan rather than Ottawa?
3)
Why do you think the film did not include the two significant political events
involving Douglas?
4)
What historical events led to the Mossbank Debate?
5)
What historical event led to the War Measures Act speech of 1970?
6)
Who introduced Douglas to “Mouseland”?
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Portrayal of Jimmy Gardiner
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Although Jimmy Gardiner does not appear often in the film, his role is critical. In Prairie
Giant, Gardiner is depicted as a hard-drinking and harsh man. Used as a political foil for
Douglas, he is characterized as the ‘devil’ that makes Douglas look more ‘saintly’. The facts do
not support this portrayal.
Gardiner served as an elected representative for 44 consecutive years in the
Saskatchewan Legislature and the House of Commons, and was one of the most accomplished
advocates for Western Canada. He was Minister of Agriculture for 22 years and initiated prairie
land rehabilitation programs.
Jimmy Gardiner, a Presbyterian, prohibitionist, and teetotaller, was one of the founding
signatories to the United Church of Canada. He was known as a principled politician whose
strongly held principles won him both friends and enemies.
A contributing factor to the defeat of the Gardiner government in 1929 was Gardiner’s
support of a multi-cultural Canada. Catholic, Jewish and French communities were targeted by
the Ku Klux Klan with 125 chapters and tens of thousands of members. Gardiner’s opponents
feared that “the foundations of civilisation in the west” were threatened and that “dangerous
immigrants from Europe… [were] certain to overcome the decent if left unchecked.” There were
rallies; crosses were burned. Gardiner stood firm against the KKK and their ideology. At the
time, the following article appeared in the Western Jewish News:
Excerpt from Western Jewish News 1928
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S.A. Berg, Feb. 2, 1928 edition of Western Jewish News
Jimmy Gardiner once more stamps himself among the more liberal and courageous
of Canada’s statesmen. His attitude toward those of non-British origin in
this Province is one worthy of emulation by all public officials. His
sympathy with the aspirations of those which the Nordics call ‘foreigners’ is
based on thorough understanding. It will be recalled that years before he
became Premier, Mr. Gardiner taught in outlying districts including sometime
spent in the Jewish colony of Hirsch. Here undoubtedly there was an exchange
of ideas between teacher and community which was to the benefit of both. Now
the knowledge, which Mr. Gardiner gleaned in those teaching days among
‘foreigners’ stands him in good stead in the fight against the Klan.
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Questions:
1)
Why would the film portray Gardiner as spokesperson for the ‘United Government’ at the
time of the Estevan Riot when he was in opposition to the government?
2)
Why would the film show Gardiner drinking when he was a known prohibitionist and
teetotaller?
3)
Did Gardiner support health care? How?
4)
Why would the film suggest that Gardiner was unconcerned about farm bankruptcies?
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Medicare
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Historians and Saskatchewanians identified many historical problems with the script. For
instance, the development of Medicare in the film does not reflect the actual evolution of
Medicare or identify other major players.
Medicare did not happen over night; as a social service, it evolved through time.
Although Saskatchewan pioneered many health care initiatives, each province of Canada has its
own medicare history. In 1964, Allan Blakeney, former NDP premier of Saskatchewan, stated
that “the introduction of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis at public expense was one of
the early and essential steps in developing a program of health services available to all”.
Saskatchewan led the world in the treatment, and free hospitalisation, of tuberculosis patients in
the 1920s. At that time, Dr. J.M. Uhrich, the Minister of Health, was called the father of health
care. Saskatchewan also had early tax-funded medical and hospital care at the municipal level
(research Swift Current health care).
Douglas, and others, referred to Justice Emmett Hall as the Father of the Canadian
Medical Program, or Medicare (http://www.cahspr.ca/hall/ and http://deena.ca/hall_emmett.html).
It was Hall’s Royal Commission on Health Services, 1961-1964, which led to the introduction of
medicare. Hall’s Commission was created by John Diefenbaker, and it was Lester Pearson’s
minority government that introduced the Medicare Care Act of 1966, which came into effect on
July 1, 1968. In 1996, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien stated that “Canadians will be forever
grateful for the pivotal role that he [Hall] played in bringing universal medicare to Canada.
Throughout his long life, he remained medicare's most eloquent defender”.
In Saskatchewan, Douglas left office prior to the implementation of the provincial
medicare program. Woodrow Lloyd was Premier, and Allan Blakeney was Treasurer, becoming
Minister of Health in 1962. The Doctor’s Strike and implementation of the new provincial plan
occurred in 1962. A British physician, Lord Taylor, was brought in to broker an end to the strike.
The terms of the program had to be altered significantly before the strike could be settled.
Questions:
1)
Who was the father of Canada’s Medicare system? Was there one father?
2)
Why would the film not have referenced Justice Emmett Hall?
3)
What role(s) did Lloyd and Blakeney play in the development of Medicare?
4)
Who was the negotiator between the doctors and the CCF government?
5)
Did the scene showing Doctor Mould ‘saving face’ reflect the negotiated agreement?
6)
What is the history of medicare in your province?
7)
Have Canadians been “forever grateful” for Justice Emmett Hall’s contributions to
medicare?
8)
Why do you think the film focused more on Diefenbaker than on Lloyd, Blakeney, Hall or
Pearson?
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The Power of Film
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The power of film, as a medium, now dwarfs the once mighty power of the pen. The
magic of film lies in the ability of images and sound to conjure up virtual worlds; as McLuhan put
it, a viewer will be transferred into this virtual world, and accept subliminally a personal
experience without critical awareness.
Propaganda means an ‘organised scheme for propagation of a doctrine or practise’. Film
is an efficient and effective tool for spreading a message to masses of people. Propaganda, by
definition, is designed to influence thought and behaviour.
Marketing, advertising and other means that are designed to convince someone of a
message can be propaganda. It is so embedded in our culture that we are unaware of it in our
daily lives. An effective technique of propagandists is to use a trusted third party with no
apparent connections to the cause, whatever it may be, to advocate or propagate the message.
The NDP government of Saskatchewan contributed financing to Prairie Giant because it
wanted to leave a ‘legacy’. Prominent NDP personas were named in the promotional agreement
for the film. Prominent NDP leaders were provided with advance copies of the film.
Questions:
1)
How do you define propaganda? Can you give examples?
2)
When is propaganda OK? When is propaganda dangerous?
3)
Have you read George Orwell’s Animal Farm or his 1984? How is the issue of
propaganda developed in these books?
Public Accountability
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The CBC is a public broadcaster. It is supported by tax dollars and has a specific
purpose to serve the people of Canada. The CBC proudly states that it is Canada’s
broadcaster and that it presents Canada’s story to Canadians.
The Prairie Giant has been shown to be an historically inaccurate film, untruthful not only
in what it contains, but also in what it doesn’t show. The producers claim creative licence to do
what they wish. Commensurate with freedom of speech and creative license are duties of
responsibility, honest inquiry, and accountability. The issue is whether the producers, CBC and
Minds Eye Productions, acted responsibly. If we do not respect our history, we will, as a society,
lose sight of our value system.
Questions:
1)
Should the CBC be truthful to Canada’s History?
2)
Do you expect the CBC’s historical dramas, films or documentaries to be truthful?
3)
What can Canadians do about the CBC if they think that it is not being honest?
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Historical Perspectives
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When information is used to instil a particular emotion, thought or response, with the
intention of manipulating behaviour or beliefs, it is propaganda. The subtlest propaganda
involves ‘true lies’, or lies that have the appearance of truth.
In Prairie Giant, the most emotional and captivating scenes relate to the Estevan Riot of
1931, and to the poor during the depression. One is left with the impression that Douglas was a
compassionate man who cared for the immigrant workers and those on ‘relief’, while Gardiner
was a cold uncaring man, dismissive of immigrants.
Tommy Douglas and John Diefenbaker did great things. Douglas drafted a provincial Bill
of Rights in 1946, while John Diefenbaker drafted a national Bill of Rights in 1960. However, the
emotional ‘riot’ scenes in the film did not occur in 1946 or 1960. The Estevan Riot occurred in
1931. What were the ideologies of these men and of Gardiner in the period 1927-1934?
Gardiner’s ideology contrasted sharply with Tommy Douglas’ belief that the state could
engineer economic, social and moral imperfections out of existence. In his graduate thesis,
Douglas used his observations of select Weyburn families in formulating his cures for those
whom he classified as “subnormal” meaning “(1) a family whose mental rating is low … (2) a
family whose moral standards are below normal, and who are delinquent; and (3) as a usual but
not necessary corollary, a family subject to social disease, and (4) so improvident as to be a
public charge”. Douglas proposed cures that would include social segregation and, for the
subnormal sub-group of ‘defectives’, sterilisation. (see The problems of the subnormal family,
T.C.Douglas, Masters Thesis, McMaster University, 1933) A boy who attended Douglas’ youth group
was cited in the thesis as one of the subnormal people who should be isolated from those with
acceptable morals. Douglas suggested that those who could not support themselves were a
drain on society. Douglas did his thesis research between 1931 and 1933.
The Ku Klux Klan was an active organisation from the mid-1920s through to the early
1930s in the prairies. Diefenbaker shared the platform with leaders of the KKK and spoke about
the need to reduce the rights of the French-speaking catholic citizens, and to limit their religious
and educational freedoms. (see Library and Archives Canada, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online)
Gardiner believed in individual effort and minimal state intervention in people’s lives. He
had lived on relief as a child and valued those who were forced, through economic hardship, to
accept relief. Historians acknowledge that Gardiner’s record, in opposing the KKK and
maintaining his principles, was unflawed. He stood apart in his opposition to the KKK and his
support of French, Jewish, Ukrainian and other immigrant communities.
By painting Gardiner in a negative way, Prairie Giant leaves the viewer to experience a
cold character, whereas, during the period in question, history suggests that Gardiner may have
been the more compassionate man. Douglas and Diefenbaker had yet to develop their persona
of human rights advocates.
Questions:
1)
What elements of propaganda (or ‘true lies’) did you notice in the film?
2)
Why would the producers create ‘true lies’ about this period of Canada’s history?
3)
Were the character portrayals of Douglas and Gardiner fair?
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Resources
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Film:
Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story
Print Resources:
Tommy Douglas: Building the New Society, by Dave Margoshes. Montreal: XYZ Pub., 1999.
Tommy Douglas: The Road to Jerusalem, by Thomas McLeod & Ian McLeod. Hurtig, 1987 and
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, April 2005.
Dream No Little Dreams: A Biography of the Douglas Government 1944-1961, by A.W. Johnson.
Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2004.
The Life and Political Times of Tommy Douglas, by Walter Stewart. McArthur & Company, 2003.
CCF Colonialism in Northern Saskatchewan: Battling Parish Priests, Bootleggers, and Fur Sharks, by
David M. Quiring. Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 2004.
Jimmy Gardiner: Relentless Liberal, by Norman Ward and David Smith. Toronto, University of
Toronto Press, 1990.
None of It Came Easy, the Story of James Garfield Gardiner, by Nathaniel A. Benson. Toronto,
Burns and MacEachern, 1955.
Steps on the Road to Medicare, by C. Stuart Houston. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002.
On the Web:
Douglas and Gardiner Biographies
http://canadawiki.org
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com
Numerous articles and letters to the editor (canada.com rather than total web search)
http://www.canada.com
Randy Burton, March 16, 2006: PG fraught with fiction
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=b67c03b8-a560-4e20-bed2a5f411ea8ea7&k=44489
Murray Mandryk, March 17, 2006: Historical inaccuracies spoiled Douglas movie
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/columnists/story.html?id=6517028b-771b-4a1c-bff97adf45a95b4c
Ron Petrie, March 18, 2006: Setting the record straight on Gardiner
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=c4b38a51-271e-4349-b404ad9808d8e511
Gerald Owen, March 18, 2006: Needless Villainy
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=03ea0f58-bb55-4f9a-ae1ab61b9cff1df9&k=71131
Diefenbaker Biography:
Library and Archives Canada, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42125&query=Diefenbaker
General controversy: Google either Prairie Giant or Jimmy Gardiner on google.ca
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