William Canniff

William Canniff (born in Thurlow, Upper Canada, 20 June 1830; died in Belleville, Ontario 18 October 1910) was a surgeon, public health pioneer, historian and advocate of Canadian nationalism.

Education Dr. William Canniff trained in medicine in Canada, the US, Great Britain and Europe prior to settling in Belleville where he practiced surgery. In 1852 he enrolled at the Victoria College Medical School studying under Dr. William Thomas Aikins. In his role as MOH, Canniff appreciated the role of water in disease transmission, and advocated hygienic waste-water disposal and a centralized drinking water supply for the city. Throughout his tenure as chief medical officer for Toronto, Canniff met resistance from physicians who defied his department's requirement for infectious disease reporting, arguing that the extra effort needed to do this went uncompensated.