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Spanish Flu Themes

In this section, you’ll find several short theme papers on various aspects of the pandemic written by a range of renowned academic experts. These unique themes were created to encourage and inspire registrants in exploring intriguing perspectives in their commemorative Spanish flu pandemic projects.

A Pandemics Primer

We have updated our original Spanish flu 101 article to reflect on the current global pandemic.

Webpage: A pandemics primer: Infectious disease outbreaks, from the plague to COVID-19

Peacetime Killer

How the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic felled nearly as many Canadians as the First World War.  (John Lorinc)

Webpage: Read the article, originally published in Canada’s History Magazine, here. (Published here on March 28, 2020)

Excavating the Flu 

Webpage: Learn how one would recover a body carrying the Spanish flu virus from permafrost.

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From Bad to Worse

Webpage: A hundred years ago, 1918 finally saw the war come to an end just as a terrifying new enemy – the flu pandemic – was taking catastrophic shape.

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The Hunt for Microbes

Webpage: Making sense of the microbiology.

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Location, Location, Location

Webpage: How geography could determine who died between 1918 and 1920.

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The Plague Sweeps Canada

Webpage: Canada experienced the horrors of the Spanish flu through periods of frustration, devastation, and the odd sprinkling of hope.

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Nikkei Survivor

Webpage: How one Japanese Canadian experienced and survived the Spanish flu pandemic in Vancouver.

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Regina’s Darkest Days

Webpage: The Spanish influenza may not have arrived in Regina until October 1918, but the seeds of the epidemic were planted much earlier.

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First Peoples Struggling to Survive

Webpage: A story about First Nations, influenza, and the work of the government.

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Soldiers Struck Down

Webpage: Whether training on the home front or in the trenches, the First World War provided the right conditions for the pandemic among the Canadian Forces.

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In the Prime of Life

Webpage: Why did the Spanish flu kill so many young men and women in full health?

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The Last 100 Days

Webpage: To what extent did influenza influence the fighting for the Canadians at the front in the last 100 days of the war?

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No Room at the Inn

Webpage: The challenges faced by new Canadians to bury their dead in a Winnipeg that objected to their traditions.

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Enemy Aliens

Webpage: New Canadians endure life in the pandemic as enemy aliens on Canada’s home front.

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Burn Their Names in Bronze

Webpage: In October 1918, about 20 doctors died of the flu in Quebec while caring for the sick. Do you know these fallen heroes?

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Pandemics by the Numbers

Webpage: Mathematics can provide some answers to understand how pandemics spread, but all the rest is uncertain.

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Cancelled Cup

Webpage: The Spanish flu in the 1918/1919 hockey season.

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