Dream No Little Dreams: A Biography of the Douglas Government of Saskatchewan, 1944–1961

Joseph Garcea is a professor of political Studies at the University of
Saskatchewan.

Dream No Little Dreams, winner of the 2004 Canadian Political Science
Association’s Donald V. Smiley book prize, was written by one of the
legendary senior public servants of the Saskatchewan provincial
government and the federal government. The book traces the remarkable
achievements of that government in the aftermath of the Depression and
World War II. Those achievements—which included establishing the first
publicly funded medicare program in North America, the first compulsory
vehicle insurance system, and several innovations in public management
structures and processes—contributed to the modernization of
governance in Saskatchewan and served as a model in the modernization of
governance at both the provincial and the national levels in Canada.

Dream No Little Dreams consists of a preface, 10 chapters, and an
epilogue that collectively provide a very detailed analysis of the CCF
government’s socio-democratic intellectual roots and its policy and
governance reform initiatives. Johnson provides equally important
insight into the evolving nature of the CCF government’s relations
with the CCF Party, the legislature, the local governments, the federal
government, the major interest groups, and the electorate. His book,
which is recommended for readers who are interested in Premier Douglas
and his government as well as in public policy and public management,
will also appeal to those seeking reassurance that governments can be
creative and constructive in advancing the public interest.