Nursing has been one of Canada’s oldest professions and has had a significant impact on the workforce. In early confederation and the years beforehand, nurses were often synonymous with churches and worked as laywomen, midwives, or other forms of health work. Indigenous women were also vital in health care pre-confederation. Their history is often ignored in the narrative of nursing history, noted by Lux, M.K which states “After Confederation, the federal government aggressively pursued a policy of assimilating Indigenous Peoples and eradicating their cultures, which included efforts to suppress their healing knowledge and practices. ”
In 1639 the first Canadian Hospital was established in Quebec City. A few other hospitals were founded throughout the rest of French Canada in the following years. This series of “Hotel Dieu’s” were religious institutions followed the Christian model of charity and began the first set of training people as nurses. This work was mostly done by the work of a congregation known as the Grey Nuns founded by Marie-Marguerite d’Youville. The profession of nursing, and health care in general began with religious institutions. The Grey Nuns essentially acted as the first nurses in Canada, assisting those in need during smallpox breakouts and provided various social services during Canada’s early years.
During the early 1800’s lay hospitals began popping up throughout the country, the primary differences between these hospitals and earlier versions was the separation of religion. Lay hospitals were primarily run by Physicians and bourgeoning nurses. The Canadian Association of Schools of Nurses notes that “Initially, epidemics played an important role in the establishment of lay hospitals. As migrants flooded into Canadian ports, many arrived with contagious diseases such as typhoid and cholera.” The quality of care was rather low, however, due to the lack of formal training. Due to this demand for a higher quality of care, the first hospital training school was opened in 1874. Lay Hospitals and the nursing schools in Canada were heavily inspired by Florence Nightingale’s model of nursing and greatly improved the health care field. As said by the CASN due to the rampant outbreaks of disease and lack of formal training by religious personnel, “1500 to 1860 A.D. has been called the “dark period of nursing.”
Nursing In Canada 