A look back at Saskatchewan's first broadcasted debate

The stage is set at Saskatchewan’s Legislative Building for the 2024 Leaders Debate. The event follows a tradition of broadcast events that began all the way back in 1957.

Then Premier Tommy Douglas faced Liberal MP Ross Thatcher.

“Both of these men are, were political powerhouses in their own right,” author Malcolm Bucholtz told CTV News.

It was called “The Great Debate” and it was the first such event in Saskatchewan to be broadcast live on the radio.

Around 1,000 people packed the Mossbank town hall to hear Douglas and Thatcher debate Crown corporations.

“Because Thatcher knew that Douglas was a fighter, he was a scrapper,” Bucholtz explained.

“So, he needled him, he poked and he prodded him, and finally Tommy Douglas said, ‘That's it. I've had enough. I'm going to debate you, sir. Anywhere. Anytime. You pick it, I'll be there.’”

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The pair picked the community south of Moose Jaw in part to facilitate media coverage.

“Fast forward to today – What do have in politics? Town hall meetings. Televised debates on the major networks,” Bucholtz added. “I believe this event in 1957 probably was the trigger that changed the trajectory of how politics is done.”

The debate, 67 years ago, is now the subject of a book written by Bucholtz, titled “Thatcher Versus Douglas: The CFF, the Liberals, and the Mossbank Debate of 1957.”

On Oct. 17, the community will gather at the local library to discuss the book and how the small community of Mossbank helped establish a tradition that continues to this day.