POLITICS * POLITIQUE
Dr. Draper ends the drought as Saskatehewan elects its first MD to legislature since
1938
C. Stuart Houston, MD, FRCPC
D r. Lewis Draper's election to the Saskatchewan legislature last October was a remarkable achievement. Although he trailed in the early returns, the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate squeaked by with 2630 votes, 59 more than the Progressive Conservative candidate, veterinarian Jack Wolfe. In capturing the seat, he became the first physician elected to the legislature since 1938. The Assiniboia-Gravelbourg riding that Draper captured is interesting because it usually elected a Liberal through the many years the province was ruled by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the NDP; the vote probably went this way because of the large number of French-Canadian voters in the area. The riding elected its firstever Progressive Conservative member in a 1988 byelection when Ralph Goodale, the only Liberal member in the legislature, resigned his seat to contest a federal seat in Regina. Wolfe ran successfully in a tight race against the NDP, winning by 155 votes. During that
campaign the NDP overemphasized the risk of a Conservative government closing the small hospitals in the constituency and this may have backfired. Wolfe became the assistant minister of health under George McLeod. The idea of a physician running for office is nothing new for this area of Saskatchewan. In 1964, when the riding was smaller and known simply as Gravelbourg, the town doctor, Roland Leblanc, ran unsuccessfully for the CCF. Unlike Draper, he lost. A man with positive opinions on most any topic, Draper won the NDP nomination because of
his personality, industriousness and reputation. The AssiniboiaGravelbourg riding has many farmer voters, but a low labour presence. It would have been more difficult for a medical doctor to be nominated to represent the NDP in Regina or Saskatoon, where labour has a much stronger influence. Although physicians were absent from the legislature for more than 50 years before Draper's victory, they were greatly over-represented during its early years. In rural communities, local physicians tended to be the best-educated and well-known residents and were highly respected for their
"In Gravelbourg's case, I've been telling people not to think of my election as losing a doctor, but as gaining a vet."
Dr. Lewis Draper
C. Stuart Houston is with the Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, Sask. APRIL 15, 1992
CAN MEDASSOCJ 1992; 146(8)
1423
Altruism wasn't the only reason for pursuing a seat during the legislature's early years - being an MLA was a source of both prestige and money at a time when doctors were often paid for only half, or less than half, of their billings. devoted 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-aweek service. As a result, they filled up to 10% of the legislature seats even though they constituted only 0.1% of the population (Table 1). The doctor was an attractive candidate for any party, but especially for parties that leaned to the right. Before 1944, medical doctors tended to garner more votes than the average nominee for their party. Altruism wasn't the only reason for pursuing a seat during the legislature's early years. In times when doctors were often paid for only half, or less than half, of their billings, being a member of the legislature (MLA) was a source of both prestige and money. Furthermore, sittings of the legislature offered a welcome respite, a chance to get away from being on
to 8 weeks a year, and the duties were not as onerous as they are now unless a doctor accepted a cabinet post, as Dr. J.W. Uhrich, a long-term minister of health, once did.
Saskatchewan's first legislature, from 1905 to 1908, contained one medical doctor on the government side, Liberal D.P. Neely of Humboldt, and three more sat on the opposition side with the Provincial Rights Party, which evolved into the Progressive Conservatives: Dr. A.W. Argue of Grenfell, Dr. W. Elliott of Wolseley and Dr. D.D. Ellis of the little village of Fleming, who represented the constituency of Moosomin. Thus, 4 of the 25 legislators were physicians. Three other doctors who ran for the Provincial Rights Party were defeated in that election. Subsequent legislatures, at call around the clock: the doctor got a rest and his wife could shop least until the ones after 1938, had and share in Regina's social scene. at least one physician MLA (Table The legislature only sat for 4 1).
1424
CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (8)
After the NDP sweep of 1944, and until last year's election, a long list of physicians went down to defeat. However, no medical doctors chose to run in
the Saskatchewan elections of 1978, 1982 or 1986. This was in striking contrast to the situation in other provinces. Dr. Bette Stephenson, a CMA past president, became an Ontario cabinet minister; Dr. Morton Shulman held a seat for the NDP in Ontario, and Dr. John Collins was elected in Newfoundland. In the 1987 provincial election in New Brunswick, which swept the Conservatives out of office, the Liberals elected four physicians. In 1991 one of these members, Dr. Russ King, was reelected and became the first physician minister of health for New Brunswick in 25 years. Physicians' lack of success in entering the post-World War II Saskatchewan legislature was mirrored by their results in postwar federal elections. Although many doctors were sent to Ottawa from Saskatchewan before the war, afterwards only two physicians served a full term, and one a partial term, in the House of Commons. Dr. Emmett McCusker was the Liberal member for Regina from 1949-53. When the sitting member for Saskatoon, Harry Jones, died in 1964, his widow, Psychiatrist Eloise Jones, ran in a byelection and retained her husband's seat. In 1965, Dr. Lewis Brand won the Saskatoon riding for the Conservatives. Why were no physicians LE 1 5 AVRIL 1992
1l beat out Jack Wolfe. a veterinarian, and I gucss oo could say that I had the advantage because mxN patien-ts could vote and his couldn't"' -
Dr. Lewis Draper
elected to the provincial legislature after World War II? Probably because the public perception of the doctor was changing and the aura they had held was diminishing. The public now had higher expectations. Medicine has become more complex, more institu-
tionalized. And doctors were busy first to provide free treatment for with politics within their own hos- tuberculosis, has played a major pitals and specialty organizations role in this country's health care and had little time left to devote history: it was the crucible for province-wide hospitalization and to provincial politics. Saskatchewan, the first prov- medicare, and the site for the ince with municipal hospital and world's first clinical use of the municipal doctor plans and the betatron and "cobalt bomb" in treating cancer. Given that the province has always given health care a high priority, it may seem strange that voters failed to elect any physician MLAs between 1938 and 1991. However, there is little doubt that the "doctor's strike," physicians' 21-day work stoppage in July 1962, harmed the public image of the altruistic medical doctor, perhaps changing the public perception of doctors in the process. If legislative success is any indicator, that change has been more dramatic in Saskatchewan than elsewhere. Before World War II, the province had been the most rural of all provinces, with doctors spread throughout its towns and villages. The postwar period brought increasing specialization, more bureaucracy, many more forms to fill out. More doctors moved to the cities. Doctors became busier and earned higher incomes, and the almost full-time legislative position became less of an attraction; indeed, it might even cause a doctor real financial hardship. Whatever weight is given to these various factors, Draper clearly deserves hardy congratulations for his victory. He brought a very long drought in the Saskatchewan legislature to an end..
CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (8)
LE I S AVRIL 1992
1428
Dr. Draper ends the drought as Saskatehewan elects its first MD to legislature since
1938
C. Stuart Houston, MD, FRCPC
D r. Lewis Draper's election to the Saskatchewan legislature last October was a remarkable achievement. Although he trailed in the early returns, the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate squeaked by with 2630 votes, 59 more than the Progressive Conservative candidate, veterinarian Jack Wolfe. In capturing the seat, he became the first physician elected to the legislature since 1938. The Assiniboia-Gravelbourg riding that Draper captured is interesting because it usually elected a Liberal through the many years the province was ruled by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the NDP; the vote probably went this way because of the large number of French-Canadian voters in the area. The riding elected its firstever Progressive Conservative member in a 1988 byelection when Ralph Goodale, the only Liberal member in the legislature, resigned his seat to contest a federal seat in Regina. Wolfe ran successfully in a tight race against the NDP, winning by 155 votes. During that
campaign the NDP overemphasized the risk of a Conservative government closing the small hospitals in the constituency and this may have backfired. Wolfe became the assistant minister of health under George McLeod. The idea of a physician running for office is nothing new for this area of Saskatchewan. In 1964, when the riding was smaller and known simply as Gravelbourg, the town doctor, Roland Leblanc, ran unsuccessfully for the CCF. Unlike Draper, he lost. A man with positive opinions on most any topic, Draper won the NDP nomination because of
his personality, industriousness and reputation. The AssiniboiaGravelbourg riding has many farmer voters, but a low labour presence. It would have been more difficult for a medical doctor to be nominated to represent the NDP in Regina or Saskatoon, where labour has a much stronger influence. Although physicians were absent from the legislature for more than 50 years before Draper's victory, they were greatly over-represented during its early years. In rural communities, local physicians tended to be the best-educated and well-known residents and were highly respected for their
"In Gravelbourg's case, I've been telling people not to think of my election as losing a doctor, but as gaining a vet."
Dr. Lewis Draper
C. Stuart Houston is with the Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, Sask. APRIL 15, 1992
CAN MEDASSOCJ 1992; 146(8)
1423
Altruism wasn't the only reason for pursuing a seat during the legislature's early years - being an MLA was a source of both prestige and money at a time when doctors were often paid for only half, or less than half, of their billings. devoted 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-aweek service. As a result, they filled up to 10% of the legislature seats even though they constituted only 0.1% of the population (Table 1). The doctor was an attractive candidate for any party, but especially for parties that leaned to the right. Before 1944, medical doctors tended to garner more votes than the average nominee for their party. Altruism wasn't the only reason for pursuing a seat during the legislature's early years. In times when doctors were often paid for only half, or less than half, of their billings, being a member of the legislature (MLA) was a source of both prestige and money. Furthermore, sittings of the legislature offered a welcome respite, a chance to get away from being on
to 8 weeks a year, and the duties were not as onerous as they are now unless a doctor accepted a cabinet post, as Dr. J.W. Uhrich, a long-term minister of health, once did.
Saskatchewan's first legislature, from 1905 to 1908, contained one medical doctor on the government side, Liberal D.P. Neely of Humboldt, and three more sat on the opposition side with the Provincial Rights Party, which evolved into the Progressive Conservatives: Dr. A.W. Argue of Grenfell, Dr. W. Elliott of Wolseley and Dr. D.D. Ellis of the little village of Fleming, who represented the constituency of Moosomin. Thus, 4 of the 25 legislators were physicians. Three other doctors who ran for the Provincial Rights Party were defeated in that election. Subsequent legislatures, at call around the clock: the doctor got a rest and his wife could shop least until the ones after 1938, had and share in Regina's social scene. at least one physician MLA (Table The legislature only sat for 4 1).
1424
CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (8)
After the NDP sweep of 1944, and until last year's election, a long list of physicians went down to defeat. However, no medical doctors chose to run in
the Saskatchewan elections of 1978, 1982 or 1986. This was in striking contrast to the situation in other provinces. Dr. Bette Stephenson, a CMA past president, became an Ontario cabinet minister; Dr. Morton Shulman held a seat for the NDP in Ontario, and Dr. John Collins was elected in Newfoundland. In the 1987 provincial election in New Brunswick, which swept the Conservatives out of office, the Liberals elected four physicians. In 1991 one of these members, Dr. Russ King, was reelected and became the first physician minister of health for New Brunswick in 25 years. Physicians' lack of success in entering the post-World War II Saskatchewan legislature was mirrored by their results in postwar federal elections. Although many doctors were sent to Ottawa from Saskatchewan before the war, afterwards only two physicians served a full term, and one a partial term, in the House of Commons. Dr. Emmett McCusker was the Liberal member for Regina from 1949-53. When the sitting member for Saskatoon, Harry Jones, died in 1964, his widow, Psychiatrist Eloise Jones, ran in a byelection and retained her husband's seat. In 1965, Dr. Lewis Brand won the Saskatoon riding for the Conservatives. Why were no physicians LE 1 5 AVRIL 1992
1l beat out Jack Wolfe. a veterinarian, and I gucss oo could say that I had the advantage because mxN patien-ts could vote and his couldn't"' -
Dr. Lewis Draper
elected to the provincial legislature after World War II? Probably because the public perception of the doctor was changing and the aura they had held was diminishing. The public now had higher expectations. Medicine has become more complex, more institu-
tionalized. And doctors were busy first to provide free treatment for with politics within their own hos- tuberculosis, has played a major pitals and specialty organizations role in this country's health care and had little time left to devote history: it was the crucible for province-wide hospitalization and to provincial politics. Saskatchewan, the first prov- medicare, and the site for the ince with municipal hospital and world's first clinical use of the municipal doctor plans and the betatron and "cobalt bomb" in treating cancer. Given that the province has always given health care a high priority, it may seem strange that voters failed to elect any physician MLAs between 1938 and 1991. However, there is little doubt that the "doctor's strike," physicians' 21-day work stoppage in July 1962, harmed the public image of the altruistic medical doctor, perhaps changing the public perception of doctors in the process. If legislative success is any indicator, that change has been more dramatic in Saskatchewan than elsewhere. Before World War II, the province had been the most rural of all provinces, with doctors spread throughout its towns and villages. The postwar period brought increasing specialization, more bureaucracy, many more forms to fill out. More doctors moved to the cities. Doctors became busier and earned higher incomes, and the almost full-time legislative position became less of an attraction; indeed, it might even cause a doctor real financial hardship. Whatever weight is given to these various factors, Draper clearly deserves hardy congratulations for his victory. He brought a very long drought in the Saskatchewan legislature to an end..
CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (8)
LE I S AVRIL 1992
1428
