There is a big difference between government-paid healthcare (Canada) and government-mandated healthcare (Obamacare). In Canada, you have no choice but to pay taxes and support it. The bill is hidden, and universal coverage means that the young and healthy support the old and sick. In the U.S., people still have to pay their own health care premiums, or pay a penalty. The cost is explicit, made worse by self-selection of those who need care. In addition, there would be an early bump in costs, as people who formerly did not have health care need more immediate care until their health stabilized.

So even if the Tommy Douglas quote was true, the circumstances of its implementation makes it incorrect.