"He has to win, man. Because he's the absolute only choice."

The interview has barely begun, and George Stroumboulopoulos has already launched into a passionate endorsement of his pick for the title of Greatest Canadian - former Saskatchewan premier and Father of Medicare, Tommy Douglas.

Going into this interview, a spokesperson for the CBC suggested that George was a very busy guy and the first question should be "How much time can you give me?" One could assume, then, George is just trying to get the interview over with quickly, by firing off his argument for Douglas right away.

Judging from the rest of the conversation, however, it's apparent how strongly Stroumboulopoulos feels about championing Douglas' cause.

"Tommy Douglas never got the kind of attention he deserved," George said. "I didn't learn about him in school. You just don't learn that much about him. But clearly, we have to get to a point where we start recognizing and appreciating our true heroes. And Douglas is the greatest one this country's ever had."

If you've been a fan of MuchMusic at any time over the past five years, you've probably heard of Stroumboulopoulos, one of the more outspoken and popular VJs on the music channel. (He recently shocked its viewers with the announcement he's leaving MTV to join CBC Newsworld.)

He's been the producer and the host of The Punk Show, but also host of The NewMusic, LOUD and MuchNews. But, on Oct. 18, Stroumboulopoulos had the job of being Tommy Douglas' advocate in a documentary that aired on CBC-TV.

Everyone of the Top 10 candidates in the Greatest Canadian contest has had a special celebrity advocate arguing on their behalf.

It's unlikely, however, that any of the other advocates voted for their candidate when CBC was asking for nominations into the Top 100 Greatest Canadian list, back in the spring. Tommy was George's pick for the Greatest Canadian even then.

"As a matter of fact, when I was approached to do this show, they asked if I wanted to be part of the Greatest Canadian series. I said, 'Only if I can do Tommy Douglas.'

"They said, 'Well, how do you know he's in the Top 10?' I said, 'If he's not in it, I don't care. I'm not interested. I only want to do Tommy Douglas.'"

The documentary on Douglas was filmed in part around Weyburn and Estevan this summer. It took a sometimes funny and irreverent stance in advocating Douglas.

Stroumboulopoulos said he already knew a fair bit about Douglas before he participated in the documentary.

He knew about universal health care. He knew about what Douglas did for labour rights, and how he created a Bill of Rights years before Pierre Trudeau tried it. He knew about Douglas' philosophy, his social gospel of standing up for what you believe in.

But he was still shocked about how much Douglas actually accomplished.

"You start looking at all this stuff, you kind of start laughing. You start thinking, 'Auto insurance. He let women go into bars. Minimum wage. Paid vacation and 40-hour work week. Like, holy cow! Anything this guy hasn't done?!'"

Stroumboulopoulos said what he ultimately likes most about Douglas is how he got so much done in so little time.

"(Tommy Douglas) wasn't even the federal government. He wasn't even the Official Opposition, federally. But what he was able to do provincially and in his time federally he got a lot done. And that's a very rare thing."

Stroumboulopoulos said the Greatest Canadian should be an inspiration, somebody who provides hope and whose goals are for the greater good. And he should have a legacy, not just one accomplishment but a series of accomplishments that have shaped the country and changed its course.

Clearly, Tommy is an inspiration, he said, not just because of what he did, but because of the fierce opposition he faced. And much of what this country feels most proud about - medicare, for instance - is wrapped up in what Tommy did.

Many other Canadians seem to agree with George, because Tommy Douglas has held the lead over the other Top 10 candidates for the past several weeks.

That's good, but Tommy needs to win. Not just because he deserves it, but because Canadians need to learn about Douglas again.

"It's amazing how many people haven't heard of Tommy Douglas," said Stroumboulopoulos.

"(Concerning the documentary), there was one thing we had in mind. Maybe we want to make a good film, but we're here to win. Because Canadians, especially younger people, they need to know about this guy.

"And that's why I really want him to win. Because if he wins, he'll get more press and people will pay attention to him. And maybe people will go to that little white church in Weyburn that's been moved (the T.C. Douglas Centre). Maybe, instead of just going to Ottawa, they'll go take a look at the real birthplace of what makes this country great," he said.

 Manitoban supports Douglas

To the Editor:

Just a quick note of endorsement from a Manitoban and Canadian, proud of Tommy Douglas' accomplishments in Saskatchewan and for the rest of us in Canada.

Public health insurance and a Bill of Rights in Saskatchewan evolved into medicare and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms nationally.

Tommy Douglas is my choice as The Greatest Canadian because he was a man of the people. My Canada has universal public health care and a charter of rights, because Tommy Douglas made it happen in Saskatchewan.

To me, being Canadian means valuing the well-being of the people.

Tommy is my homeboy!

Let's do it for Tommy. Vote for him as Greatest Canadian on the CBC poll

Lisa Forbes,
Winnipeg , Manitoba

 Writer supports T.C. Douglas

To the Editor:

Much has been written recently about T.C. Douglas, one-time premier of Saskatchewan. I might as well add my little bit of personal history to the story.

My father T.H. Hilliar, while being a devoted Conservative in the Land of Politics, became a strong supporter of T.C. when my father-in-law ran against T.C. Oh, the joy of politics.

I, of course, had to support my newly-acquired family and had to join the ranks of the Liberal Party.

There's no doubt but that T.C. was a fine man, strong in his political views but softened a bit as time went on . He was a great story-teller and had what one might glibly say "the gift of the gab."

So now, we look for Canada's great politicians, and my father will probably turn over in his grave to hear me say so, but I do support T.C. as one of Canada's finest politicians

Isabelle Eaglesham,
Weyburn