Provincial "Lunatic Asylum" opens in Ontario.
Date: 1850
This is the first mental health institution to open in Canada. An over 50-acre facility, it is overcrowded and under capacity for medical care. The people institutionalized there are forced to work on the farm as free labor. This is a practice influenced by a belief in "moral management," which is promoted by intellectuals of the time, such as Thomas Kirkbride and Philippe Pinel, who emphasize "kindness, light restrains, cheerful surroundings, and relaxing domestic tasks as part of therapy."