For the week of Monday, October 25, 2021.
On October 28, 1918, an article in the Montréal newspaper La Patrie praised the heroism of female healthcare workers during the second wave of the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic. Across the country, trained nurses, and volunteers risked their health to care for patients who had contracted the deadly infectious disease, which took the lives of tens of thousands of Canadians.
The influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (commonly known as the “Spanish flu”) entered Canada near the end of the First World War. The virus was circulating in Canadian towns and cities by late September 1918, just a few weeks after the emergence of a more contagious and deadly mutation of the disease. Railways carried the virus from one major North American city to the next, where large civilian gatherings resulted in widespread infection.
By mid-October, the public health situation was rapidly deteriorating, despite government measures that included shutting down public spaces. To make matters worse, there was a shortage of professional nursing staff, as many had enlisted to serve in Europe. Consequently, female religious nursing orders became crucial to the fight against the pandemic, as did the many women who volunteered for service with the Victorian Order of Nurses of Canada and the Voluntary Aid Detachments. Others helped provide for the basic needs of their neighbours, informally or through community organizations, such as the Jewish Aid Committee in Winnipeg’s North End.
These nurses and volunteers helped patients through the sometimes harrowing consequences of the virus, which in some cases caused serious bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and bronchopneumonia, which reduced blood oxygen levels and turned their skin dark blue. The deaths of patients and colleagues added to the heavy psychological toll for nurses and volunteers, who bravely persevered in caring for the sick in Canadian homes and hospitals.
The Spanish Flu in Canada (1918–1920), the Victorian Order of Nurses, and the Voluntary Aid Detachments are designated national historic events. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) advises the Government of Canada on the commemoration of national historic events, which evoke significant moments, episodes, movements, or experiences in the history of Canada.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, persons and events of national historic significance. Any member of the public can submit a subject to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Learn how to participate in this process.