Government Intervention / Public Reaction

October 1918, the exact month Spanish influenza broke out in New Brunswick, coincided with the inception of New Brunswick’s Department of Health. This immediately placed the newly minted, and much debated, Department in the center of one of the province’s worst health crises (Jenkins, “Baptism of Fire,” 320). Minister of Health William F. Roberts and Chief Medical Officer George Melvin launched swift efforts to shut the province down and prevent further spread of influenza. This category explores the government institutions and measures devoted to preventing mass hardship as well as the public’s reaction to the unprecedented government intervention.

Public Health

Many attribute the province’s comparatively minimal death toll with the quick actions of New Brunswick’s new Department of Health.

Prior to the Spanish influenza, New Brunswick acted against numerous epidemics, such as leprosy in 1816; Asiatic cholera in 1833 and, again, in 1854; typhus in 1847; and smallpox from 1901 until after the Great War (Stewart, Medicine in New Brunswick, 117-8). An earlier smallpox scare, between 1788–1792, resulted in the province’s first public health legislation in 1796 that enforced a “maritime quarantine” on those travelling to Saint John via the sea. It was later implemented throughout the whole province in 1799. In 1833, during an outbreak of Asiatic cholera, various counties established local boards of health. Although these boards often suffered from lack of funding and medical expertise, they proved helpful during emergencies (Sturgeon, Health Care in New Brunswick: 1784–1984, 3). In 1867, the British North America Act designated health care to be a largely provincial responsibility. Twenty years later, in 1887, New Brunswick passed their own provincial Public Health Act and established the Provincial Board of Health (Sturgeon, Health Care in New Brunswick: 1784–1984, 7-8).

In 1917, William F. Roberts, then coroner of Saint John, was eager to transform New Brunswick’s public health and, as a result, successfully joined the New Brunswick legislature as a Liberal Minister Without Portfolio that same year (Doyle, Front Benches & Back Rooms, 9; 141). After much debate in the Legislative Assembly, revolving mostly around finances, the Public Health Act was passed on 26 April 1918 and was implemented later that October. At the helm of the new Department of Health were the British Empire’s first Minister of Health, William F. Roberts, and Chief Medical Officer, George Melvin. In addition to managing the pandemic, the Department initiated health inspections, enforced smallpox vaccinations, implemented the pasteurization of milk, and formally gathered vital statistics, among many of their reforms (Doyle, Front Benches & Back Rooms, 184).

Through synoptic reports, press notes, and correspondence, the following records trace the debates preceding the Department of Health’s creation and introduce several measures enforced at the beginning of the pandemic.

Portrait of Hon. Dr. William F. Roberts who presided over New Brunswick during the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Source: P107-1: Department of Health photographs.

The Honorable William F. Roberts, M.D. was born in Saint John on 18 December 1869 to Hannah Porter and John Roberts (RS141-C5: Index to Death Certificates, PANB's Vital Statistics from Government Records). Best known as the first Minister of Health in the British Empire, Roberts was a strong advocate for public health reform (Stewart, Medicine in New Brunswick, 118).

He studied at the University of New Brunswick and Bellevue Hospital, under Professor Dr. Herman M. Biggs, in New York. Following his academic career, he worked as a medical doctor for forty-four years. Before branching out into politics, he served as Saint John’s city coroner (Stewart, Medicine in New Brunswick, 118). A respected doctor and active member of his community, Roberts ran with the Liberals in the provincial election of 1917. Before successfully advocating for a Department of Health through the Public Health Act, Roberts was a Minister Without Portfolio (Doyle, Front Benches & Back Rooms, 141). Roberts supported both Prohibition and female suffrage.

Among his chief achievements were his handling of the Spanish influenza and the near eradication of smallpox by instituting mandatory vaccinations. He eventually lost re-election in 1925 after angering the province’s dairy community over the forced pasteurization of milk that resulted in increased prices (Stewart, Medicine in New Brunswick, 119; Doyle, Front Benches & Back Rooms, 251). On 10 February 1938, William F. Roberts died in Saint John at 68 years old (RS141-C5: Index to Death Certificates, PANB's Vital Statistics from Government Records).

Although some of Roberts’s stances and changes sparked backlash, contemporaries and historians alike have praised his commitment to public service that ultimately saved thousands of New Brunswick lives.

Portrait of Dr. George G. Melvin, the first Chief Medical Health Officer of New Brunswick, who held his post during the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Source: P107-12: Department of Health photographs.

George Givan Melvin was born 25 April 1861 in Saint John to Daniel Melvin and Jane Cochran (RS141A1b Index to Late Registration of Birth, film #18758). He studied medicine at Bellevue Hospital under Dr. Herman M. Biggs, dermatology at the University of Edinburgh, and Public Health at McGill University. Appointed as the District Health Officer for Saint John in 1911, he focused on sanitary regulations in butcher shops, homes, and outhouses.

Melvin heavily criticized local boards of health for their lack of experience and expertise (Jenkins, “Baptism of Fire,” 323). Working closely alongside Dr. William F. Roberts, Melvin would help reform public health in the province, serving as New Brunswick’s first Chief Medical Officer (Jenkins, “Baptism of Fire,” 332).

Synoptic report of 9 April 1918 meeting of the Legislative Assembly wherein MLA John B.M. Baxter of Saint John disapproves allotting government money to new positions outlined in the Public Health Act, stating: “[He] did not think that the public health had suddenly reached such a state that it required this new department.”