Prairie Giant - The Tommy Douglas Story (Part 2)

Directed by filmmaker John N. Smith (The Boys of St. Vincent, Dieppe), PRAIRIE GIANT: THE TOMMY DOUGLAS STORY stars Dora Mavor Moore award-winning (Best Actor) Michael Therriault (Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Fiddler On the Roof) in the role of Tommy Douglas. Kristin Booth (The Newsroom, ReGenesis) plays Irma Douglas, Tommy’s universally-respected wife.

“A dynamic young actor, Michael Therriault is one of the major talents of his generation,” says Smith. “He comes to us with exceptional training from Stratford which allows him to incarnate not only Tommy’s charm, but also his strength and his commitment to progressive ideas. This is the best performance of any actor on Canadian television ever.”

The former teenage amateur light-weight boxing champion of Manitoba, Baptist minister, five-time Premier of Saskatchewan and inaugural leader of the NDP became a socialist out of love for humanity. Tommy C. Douglas arrived in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in 1930 as the minister for Calvary Baptist Church at the beginning of the Great Depression. He set up a job and food distribution centre at the church, and moved into political involvement. Vision, eloquence, wit and a passionate commitment to social causes made Tommy C. Douglas an unstoppable political force. From his first foray into public office politics in 1934 to his post-retirement years in the 1970s, Canada's 'father of Medicare' stayed true to his socialist beliefs -- and in the process earned himself the respect of millions of Canadians including many of his political opponents..

Joining Michael Therriault (Tommy Douglas) are some of Canada’s greatest stars. Nicholas Campbell (Da Vinci’s City Hall) plays Edward J. Young, the Liberal candidate for Weyburn, Sask.; Brent Carver (Elizabeth Rex) plays Secretary Balsam, a fictional representative of the Baptist Church; Don McKellarst (Childstar) appears as Clarence Fines, Tommy Douglas’ brilliant Provincial Treasurer; Aidan Devine (A History of Violence) plays Tommy Douglas’ mentor and political ally M.J. Coldwell; Paul Gross (H20) plays John Diefenbaker, our 13th Prime Minister; with Andy Joness (Random Passage) taking on the role of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.

Playing composite characters inspired by real people are R.H. Thomson (Human Cargo) as Dr. Moulds, leader of the doctors’ struggle against Medicare and one of Tommy Douglas’ fiercest opponents; and Ian Tracey (Intelligence) who plays Charlie Lawson, a farmer and staunch supporter of Tommy Douglas.

Written by Bruce Smith (The Sleep Room, The Investigation), directed by John N. Smith and produced by Kevin DeWalt (Betrayed, Falling Angels) PRAIRIE GIANT: THE TOMMY DOUGLAS STORY is produced by Minds Eye Entertainment in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.