Bluebird is a local full-length bio-pic about Colonel Elizabeth Smellie – a trail blazing nurse and leader born and raised in Port Arthur and Fort William (now Thunder Bay). Bluebird examines her life and her career; using dramatizations, archival footage, photographs, and sound design to tell the moving story of this incredible woman and the many other remarkable women in her circle who have been overlooked throughout history.

Born in Port Arthur, Elizabeth Smellie (known as ‘Beth’) would become one of the most prominent women in Canadian healthcare. In many ways, she followed in the footsteps of her father, Dr. T.S.T. Smellie, who was an influential doctor and entrepreneur in Northwestern Ontario. Their family name, of Scottish origin, would be a source of amusement for Beth and her family. She would not pass up an opportunity to poke fun at her surname.

She trained as a nurse at Johns Hopkins University, against her father’s wishes.  At that time in society, a woman had a choice to make – have a career or have a family. Her choice would lead her to serve her country with distinction through two World Wars and the Great Depression.