Spanish Flu Pandemic

The Spanish flu was brought into Canada during the fall of 1918 by soldiers returning from the Great War. (WW 1).  It spread so quickly that in November 1918 the federal government tried, without success, to postpone the Armistice celebration for fear of spreading the disease.   The outbreak eventually claimed an estimated 60,000 Canadians.

The Spanish flu appears to have arrived in the Lac La Biche and area at the end of October 1918.  Within weeks the flu had spread rapidly. On November 30 there was an estimated 300 cases.

The schools were closed and everyone had to wear a mask.

It is virtually impossible to determine how many people in the area died during the flu epidemic of 1918-1919.  Burial records of Plamondon and Lac La Biche Mission Cemeteries show a mortality rate three times the normal yearly average.