Who’s a Public Health Professional? The Struggle for Recognition by Sanitary Inspectors in Early 20th Century Canada

Tracking this episode reveals the dynamics of professionalization in the early years of public health in Canada and the importance of the CJPH as a forum for debate and source for information in the emerging field of public health in Canada, and consequently as a key source for that field's history The tension between sanitary science and the health-related professions has a well-documented history in Britain, but is relatively under-researched for Canada.1 In the period just before and during the First World War, an organized body of sanitary inspectors sought to improve their professional standing. According to reports in the PHJ, this was the most sought-after form of certification described as the preeminent certification in the Empire.