November 1918 was the end of one wasteful loss of human life, the First World War, but also the start of another. As flu season ramps up in Ontario, we take a look at an event 100 years ago.

The battlefields and troop staging areas of the First World War were crowded affairs, and hospital camps were filled with soldiers whose immune systems were weakened by chemical attacks. A flu-like illness at Étaples, France in 1916 lingered, becoming an outbreak, then spreading across Europe and North America.

In August 1918, a much more virulent version of the flu showed up in France, Sierra Leone and Boston simultaneously. It received extensive media coverage in Spain, when it arrived there in November. The country had sat out of the war, and as a result, hadn't muzzled its media. As a result, the pandemic became known inaccurately as the “Spanish flu.”

It was also around November 1918 that the flu began its spread in Canada, including Ontario. Luckily, the provincial government had allowed municipalities to appoint local Medical Officers of Health (MOH).

On Dec. 18, 1918, the Town of Streetsville’s MOH ordered the closure of all public places, indefinitely. Schools, club meetings, funerals and church services were banned.

The total loss of life around the world was staggering. Before the pandemic ended in 1920, up to 100 million people died worldwide, five per cent of the world’s population. Canadian losses tallied up to 50,000 deaths, with the virus not weakening until the mid-1920s. Surprisingly, the flu mostly killed young adults with health immune systems, as opposed to those with previously weakened immune systems or the elderly.

Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives is located at 9 Wellington St. E., Brampton, and parking is available at any of the nearby parking garages. For more information, visit pama.peelregion.ca.

Throwback Thursday is provided by Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives. PAMA is a place to explore, learn and make connections about Peel Region’s culture and heritage.