Bonnie Henry

Bonnie J. Fraser Henry (born ) is a Canadian epidemiologist, physician, and public official who has been the provincial health officer at the British Columbia Ministry of Health since 2014. Henry is also a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. She is a specialist in public health and preventive medicine, and is a family doctor. In her role as provincial health officer, Henry notably led the response to COVID-19 in British Columbia (BC).

Early life and education Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Henry grew up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where her mother, father, sister, niece, and nephew live. Her father was a major in the Canadian Army; the family lived in many different locations due to his postings, including Calgary, St. John's, and the Netherlands. Henry is the second-oldest of four daughters.

Career During her third year of medical school at Dalhousie, Henry joined the Royal Canadian Navy and served as a medical officer after graduating.

In the early 2000s, Henry served as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) UNICEF polio eradication programme in Pakistan. She continued to work with the WHO in 2001, moving to Uganda to support their efforts to tackle the Ebola virus disease. Henry helped to establish the Canada Pandemic Influenza Plan, which contains recommendations for health-related activities during the spread of a virus.

In September 2001, Henry joined Toronto Public Health as an associate medical officer of health, where she led the Emergency Services Unit and the Communicable Disease Liaison Unit. In this capacity, she was the operational lead of the response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 outbreaks in Toronto.

From 2005 to 2007, Henry worked as a physician epidemiologist at the BC Centre for Disease Control. From 2007 to 2014, she was the medical director of Public Health Emergency Management while also working as medical director of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control starting in 2011.

In December 2013, Henry was made interim provincial executive medical director of the BC Centre for Disease Control. She was made Deputy Provincial Health Officer in August 2014, a position she held for three years. She helped to lead British Columbia through a catastrophic wildfire season, which impacted the air quality, as well as advising the Government of Canada on the Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 epidemic. In 2015, she testified as an expert witness alongside Allison McGeer in a labour arbitration between the Ontario Nurses' Association and Sault Area Hospital regarding a "vaccine or mask" policy.

In February 2018, Henry was appointed as the provincial health officer for British Columbia, the first woman to hold the role. The group looks to minimise the number of people who become seriously ill during a pandemic, as well as limit the social disruptions.

COVID-19 response Community association sign in Eagle Bay, British Columbia, Canada, bearing the phrase "be calm, be kind, be safe", coined by Henry during the early days of the COVID pandemic.

Henry leads the provincial government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia. Her early handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia earned praise from the New York Times in June 2020. In August, September, and October 2020, Henry was criticized for not mandating public mask usage and the province's back-to-school plans. In November and December concerns were raised regarding the lack of transparency around COVID-19 data. In December 2021, she was criticized for previous claims that COVID mostly spreads by droplets instead of aerosols.

A book written by Bonnie Henry and her sister Lynn Henry was released in February 2021 called Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe. It describes the four early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

First half 2020 On January 30, 2020, following confirmation of the first infected person in British Columbia, Henry advised the public that "It is not necessary for the general public to take special precautions beyond the usual measures recommended to prevent other common respiratory viruses during the winter period." In March, medical columnist for The Globe and Mail described her as "a calming voice in a sea of coronavirus madness". In April, she cautioned against relying on mass testing as a strategy to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 due to the risk of "up to 30 per cent" of tests potentially resulting in false negatives. In June, Henry was featured in a New York Times article titled "The Top Doctor Who Aced the Coronavirus Test", praising the way that she has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. and only permitting the universal requirement for masks in hospitals on November 6, 2020.

A limited edition Compass card featuring the quote from Henry, "Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe," was released by TransLink on September 15, 2020. On September 22, 2020, Henry stated that she received death threats and "(has) had to have security in (her) house."

In November 2020, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) stated that BC was no longer saying what proportion of people who tested positive are healthcare providers. Further concerns were raised in December regarding the lack of transparency of COVID-19 data in BC. The funding period runs from December 1, 2020 until June 30, 2022.

On December 22, Henry received one of the first 3,600 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, saying "It’s really my way of showing how confident we are in the vaccine and how important it is for all of us to be immunized in solidarity with (health-care workers)".

2021 In July 2021, Henry warned that while it was an individual choice to accept or decline a COVID-19 vaccine, "there are consequences for people who are not immunized". In December 2021, she was criticized for prior claims that COVID-19 mostly spreads by droplets instead of aerosols. Earlier that year, Henry had co-authored a peer-reviewed study documenting a steep increase in COVID-19 infection in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in 2022, with the highest numbers among children and youth.

2023 In April 2023, Henry removed the mask requirement from BC medical settings, drawing criticism from independent experts as well as BC's Human Rights Commissioner, who stated the action "does not uphold a human rights centred approach to public health". At the time, the World Health Organization continued to recommend mask requirements in healthcare settings. After public pressure, Henry partially restored healthcare mask requirements on October 3, 2023.

2024 On July 26, 2024, Henry announced all remaining restrictions, including the vaccination requirement for health-care workers, will be rescinded.

Personal life Henry lives in Victoria, British Columbia. She met her husband while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy. The couple separated after 20 years of marriage. She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 2025.

Leadership 2009: Canadian Pandemic Coordinating Committee responding to pandemic H1N1 influenza, Member Canadian Public Health Measures Task Group, Chair Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Member Immunize Canada, Chair Infection Control Expert Group, Member National Infection Control Guidelines Steering Committee Ontario SARS Scientific Advisory Committee, Executive Team Member

Certifications 1999: American College of Preventive Medicine, Board Certification, Preventative Medicine 2001: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Fellow, Public Health and Preventive Medicine

Selected works and publications

Selected works

Selected publications