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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
@CraigBaird
Mar 19, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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It is #IrishHeritageMonth and this is the story of the Irish Famine Immigrants in Toronto!

In 1847, Toronto had a population of 20,000 people but between May and October of that year, it saw the influx of 38,560 Irish immigrants, fleeing the Irish Famine.

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The immigrants had travelled on overcrowded ships across the ocean, with the goal of settling on land in Canada West.
Unfortunately, many were sick with typhus.
Bishop Michael Power tended to the immigrants before he died of typhus on Oct. 1, 1847 at the age of 42.

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Knowing a huge influx of immigrants was arriving, Toronto created its first board of public health in February 1847.
The board built a dozen sheds for immigrants suffering from typhus, located on the corner of King and John Street.

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By the end of 1847, 1,186 of the immigrants had died, with 1,100 buried in a mass grave by St. Paul's Basilica at Queen St E. & Power Street.
Despite the influx of people, by 1848 most of the Irish immigrants had moved on beyond Toronto to find family, land & work.

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It is believed only 781 of the Irish Famine immigrants settled in Toronto.
They settled in what became known as Cabbagetown, located near Parliament and Gerrard St. E.
It received that name because the immigrants used their lawns to grow cabbage.

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More from @CraigBaird

Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Jan 8
Billy Van was one of the most gifted comedians in Canadian history.
Through a decades-long career, he proved highly influential in the comedy world.
He is best known for playing nearly every character on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.
This is his story.

🧵 1/12 A black-and-white photo of Billy Van wearing a dark cape with a high collar and a tuxedo-style outfit. He has slicked dark hair, sharply arched eyebrows, and heavy stage makeup around his eyes. One hand is raised with the index finger pointing upward, while the other arm is partially visible beneath the cape. The background is dark and out of focus, emphasizing the theatrical costume and facial expression.
Billy Van was born on Aug. 11, 1934.
He toured with his brothers as a singing act called The Van Evera Brothers.
Van eventually left the group and formed The Billy Van Singers. Their single I Miss You/The Last Sunrise hit #29 on the CHUM Chart in Toronto in 1961

🧵2/12 A black-and-white studio portrait of billy van, shown from the shoulders up. He has short, neatly combed dark hair and a clean-shaven face. He is wearing a dark jacket over a light shirt. His head is slightly turned toward the camera, with a faint smile and direct gaze. The background is softly lit and plain, with no visible details.
In 1963, Van joined CBC's satire show Nightcap. The show was a hit and in 1966 Van asked for a raise from $400 to $500 per episode.
CBC refused and Van threatened to quit. Due to public pressure, CBC agreed to the raise.

🧵3/12 A black-and-white television still showing two men standing side by side in suits and hats. The man on the right is Billy Van, wearing a light-colored suit jacket, a collared shirt, and a tie, with a fedora-style hat. He is facing slightly toward the man on the left, with a relaxed expression. The man on the left wears a darker suit and hat and appears to be mid-gesture with his hands raised. The background is plain and studio-lit, with no visible set details.
Read 13 tweets
Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Oct 20, 2025
Outside of Canada, many assume that the entire country uses bagged milk.
The truth is, only part of Canada have bagged milk in the fridge.
But why? Well, it comes down when Canada made the transition to the metric system.
This is the story!

🧵 1/9 A supermarket aisle displaying various dairy products, including bags of milk and cartons of cream, with brands such as "Sealtest" and "Lactantia" prominently featured. The products are arranged on shelves, with some bags of milk in blue and red packaging in the foreground and various milk and cream cartons in the background.
The story of milk bags in Canada begins in the 1960s. At the time, milk came in glass bottles primarily. Some producers sold milk in cardboard or plastic jugs.
In Canada's Centennial Year of 1967, DuPont introduced milk bags to the country.

🧵 2/9 A supermarket shelf displaying bags of milk from the "Neilson" brand, available in 1% and 2% partly skimmed varieties. The bags are labeled with nutritional information, including "fresh partly skimmed milk" and "lait partiellement écrémé," and are branded with the "Foodland Ontario" logo. The packaging features blue and white designs with images of a milk glass and hand, and the bags are sized at 4 liters each.
This turned out to be a good move because in the 1970s, Canada moved towards the metric system. While other companies had to redesign all of their bottles, jugs and cartons, milk bag packaging machines only needed to be resized at a very low cost.

🧵 3/9 A kitchen counter with a 1-liter bag of "Neilson" brand 2% partly skimmed milk, labeled in both English and French ("lait partiellement écrémé frais"), placed next to a white plastic pitcher. The milk bag is partially inserted into the pitcher, with the milk being poured into it. The background features a tiled wall and an electrical outlet.
Read 10 tweets
Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Oct 18, 2025
Today is Persons Day.
This day honours The Persons Case, which ended in a victory for The Famous Five on Oct. 18, 1929. The ruling declared women to be persons under the law and qualified to sit in the Senate.
This is the story of that case.

🧵 1/12 A group of bronze statues depicting five people in a park setting, with some standing and others seated around a table, set against a snowy background with bare trees and a clear blue sky.
When the British North America Act of 1867 was passed, it used the word "persons" to refer to more than one person, and "he" to refer to one person.
It was argued that only a man could be a person, which excluded women from many things.
Enter The Famous Five.

🧵2/12 A black-and-white painting depicting a large group of men in formal attire seated and standing around a long table in a room with three large arched windows, engaged in what appears to be a formal meeting or conference.
Henrietta Edwards was born in 1849.
She was a Red Cross leader during the First World War, a founding member of the Victorian Order of Nurses and helped create Canada's first YWCA.

Learn more in my Deep Dive 👇


🧵3/12canadaehx.com/2023/01/24/hen…
Read 13 tweets
Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Oct 4, 2025
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Avro Arrow was unveiled with the intention of it being the RCAF's primary interceptor in the 1960s.
Less than two years later, the program was abruptly cancelled and 14,528 Avro employees were put out of work.
This is the story of the Arrow.

🧵 1/12 A black-and-white aerial view of the Avro Arrow, a delta-winged jet aircraft marked with "RL-201" and a Canadian maple leaf insignia, displayed on a tarmac surrounded by a large crowd of people and a stage with officials, near a building and parked cars.
In the 1950s, with the dawn of the nuclear era, there was a concern that the Soviet Union would attack North America with bombers over the Canadian Arctic.
To deal with this possibility, the RCAF commissioned Avro Canada to build an all-weather nuclear interceptor.

🧵 2/12 A black-and-white photo of the Avro Arrow, a delta-winged jet aircraft marked with "RL-201," flying above the clouds with a clear sky in the background.
It needed to fly higher and faster than any aircraft of its class. With the Arrow contract, Avro quickly expanded and had 20,000 people working for it by 1957. Nine models, one-eighth the size of the finished plane, were tested in rockets over Lake Ontario.

🧵 3/12 A black-and-white photo of a rocket marked with the number "8" being prepared on a launch platform, with several people working around it. One person stands on a scaffold adjusting the rocket, while others on the ground assist, under a partly cloudy sky.
Read 13 tweets
Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Sep 28, 2025
In 1885, Montreal was ravaged by smallpox.
To stem the spread of the disease that had killed thousands so far, public health officials enforced vaccinations. Those that mistrusted the vaccine rioted in the streets.
This is the story of the Montreal Smallpox Riots.

🧵 1/10 An old-fashioned illustration depicting a group of people in a train compartment. A man in a suit is assisting a woman who appears to be unwell, adjusting her clothing or providing aid. Other passengers, including a woman seated and a child standing nearby, observe the scene. The setting includes detailed period clothing and interior design, with luggage and fabric draped around.
On Feb. 28, 1885, George Longley, a conductor with the Grand Trunk Railway, arrived in Montreal feeling sick. After visiting a doctor, he was diagnosed with smallpox. While he survived, the disease quickly began to spread throughout the city, infecting thousands.

🧵 2/10 An old-fashioned illustration of a hospital ward with several beds, each occupied by a patient covered with blankets. Nurses or caregivers in long dresses attend to the patients, with one standing near a table holding medical supplies. The room features large windows allowing natural light, and the scene is rendered in a detailed, cross-hatched style typical of historical engravings.
At first, the City of Montreal did not pay to provide vaccinations to fight the epidemic. In response, Sir William Macdonald donated $25,000 to pay for the vaccines.
Through the spring and summer, the disease killed upwards of 100 people per week in the city.

🧵 3/10 A black-and-white photograph of an elderly man with a bald head and white beard, dressed in a formal suit with a bow tie and vest, posing against a dark background.
Read 11 tweets
Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx Profile picture
Sep 28, 2025
Today is British Home Child Day.
This is the annual day that Canada acknowledges and honours the over 100,000 children who were sent from the UK to Canada to work on farms and in homes.
They were separated from siblings and many were abused.
This is their story.

🧵 1/12 The black-and-white photo shows a large group of children and a few adults posing for a group photograph in front of a large industrial building with a "No Smoking" sign. The children, mostly girls, are dressed in coats, scarves, and hats, typical of early 20th-century attire, and are arranged in several rows, with some standing on the building's steps. The setting appears to be outdoors, possibly at a school or institution, with a utilitarian structure in the background.
The Children's Friend Society was founded in London in 1830 to suppress "juvenile vagrancy" through "reformation and emigration". In 1833, 230 children were sent to Toronto and New Brunswick.
It was a few decades before more children were sent to Canada.

🧵2/12 The black-and-white photo depicts a group of children working in a field, harvesting crops. They are dressed in early 20th-century rural attire, including overalls and hats, and are using tools such as sickles and baskets to gather the harvest. The background features an open field with trees and hills under a clear sky.
In the 1860s, philanthropist Annie MacPherson was appalled at the conditions children were forced to work in at factories in London. She decided to help them and believed sending them away from the cities and even Britain was the best option for a better life.

🧵3/12 The black-and-white photo shows a formal portrait of a woman, identified as Annie Macpherson, dressed in Victorian-era clothing with a high-collared dress adorned with a floral brooch. Her hair is styled neatly and pulled back. Below the image, there is handwritten text that reads, "Yours very faithfully, Annie Macpherson."
Read 13 tweets

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