Previously published in Examiner
The history of providing medical care and other charities for the poor in Canada is older than Canada itself. It goes back to the colony of New France now known as Quebec, and Montreal key players such as Jeanne Mance, Margaret BOURGEOYS, and Margaret D’Youville lead the way. Hotel-Dieu is the oldest hospital in Canada and is located on St. Urbain Street in Montreal.
The need for medical care for the poor always remained a humanitarian issue and the Great Depression led the way for modern day revamping of the medical system in Canada. It was the individual provinces who began medical coverage on a wide scale platform.
Modern Day Healthcare began at the provincial level after the great depression.
The Medical Care Act
By 1966, the Medical Care Act, was created to enable each province to have a universal medicare program.
After the Diefenbaker era, Tommy Douglas now a cabinet minister of the Lester B. Pearson Liberal Government, built the social programs we know and use today in Montreal and the rest of Canada. These included the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Assistance Plan (helping the provinces finance social assistance programs) and our Medicare program
Canadian Prime Minister and Montrealer, Pierre Elliott Trudeau continued the work of bringing universal health care to Canadians. He was a healthy outdoorsman himself and shifted the view of curative medicine to health, lifestyle, and preventative medicine. The act provides universality and Canadians traveling from one province to another can receive the same care. The act also denied co-pays on any universal service it provides. This means that people do not have to pay anything towards their healthcare
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Hospitallers_of_St._Joseph
http://www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com/en/chapel/marguerite-Bourgeoys.asp
http://www.sgm.qc.ca/sgm/anglais/a_frameset.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Osler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/medical-cost-disability-11/slideshow-top-11-medical-expenses?ecd=wnl_day_062511