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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.

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.

The Hunt for Microbes

Webpage: Making sense of the microbiology.

Location, Location, Location

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

The Plague Sweeps Canada

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

Nikkei Survivor

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

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.

First Peoples Struggling to Survive

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

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.

In the Prime of Life

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

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?

No Room at the Inn

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

Enemy Aliens

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

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?

Pandemics by the Numbers

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

Cancelled Cup

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