Prohibition in Canada

Prohibition in Canada

Prohibition in Canada refers to a movement and a succession of actions at the local, county and provincial levels for the prohibition of alcohol, beginning in the late 19th century and continuing well into the 20th century. The temperance movement reached its height in Canada in the 1920s, when outside imports were cut off by provincial plebiscites. As legislation prohibiting consumption of alcohol was repealed, it was typically replaced with regulation restricting the sale of alcohol to minors and imposing excise taxes on alcoholic products.

Origins

Prohibition was mostly spurred on by the efforts of people of the Temperance movement to close all drinking establishments, which were viewed as places of drunkenness and misery. The main temperance organizations at the time were the "Dominion Alliance for the Total Suppression of the Liquor Traffic" and the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which rose to prominence in the 1870s in Canada and the United States.

Some legislative steps toward Prohibition were taken in the 19th Century. The passage of the Dunkin Act in the United Province of Canada in 1864 allowed any county to forbid the sale of liquor by majority vote.

An official, but non-binding, federal referendum was held in 1898 on prohibition, receiving 51.3% for and 48.7% against prohibition on a voter turnout of 44%. Prohibition had a majority in all provinces except Quebec, where a strong 81.10% voted against it. Despite this national electoral majority, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's government chose not to introduce a federal bill on prohibition in Parliament, mindful of the strong antipathy in the province of Quebec.

As a result, Canadian prohibition was instead enacted through laws passed by the provinces during the first twenty years of the 20th century. Prince Edward Island was the first to bring in prohibition in 1900. Alberta and Ontario passed prohibition laws in 1916. Quebec implemented prohibition in 1919, but it was quickly repealed after intense public pressure.

Repeal

The provinces then repealed their prohibition laws, mostly during the 1920s. After the 1924 Ontario prohibition referendum narrowly defeated the repeal of the "Ontario Prohibition Act" the Ontario government of Howard Ferguson permitted the sale of low alcohol beer and, following its re-election, repealed prohibition in 1927 and created the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, permitting the sale of liquor in the province though under heavy regulation. Alberta repealed in 1924, along with Saskatchewan, upon realizing that the laws were unenforceable. Prince Edward Island was last to repeal in 1948. Nevertheless, some communities, such as the city of Owen Sound, Ontario, continued to outlaw liquor well into the 1970s.

Realizing that they could not stop people from drinking entirely, temperance advocates successfully pressured all provincial and territorial governments to curtail the sale of liquor through the tight control of liquor control boards.

ee Also

* Whiskey Gap, Alberta
* Govenlock, Saskatchewan

References

*

[sk:Prohibícia v Kanade


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Prohibition party (Canada) — Edwin Clarke Appleby ran in the 1930 federal election in Canada as a Prohibition candidate at a time when prohibition of alcohol and the temperance movement were waning. Running in the riding of Vancouver Burrard, Appleby came in last with 266… …   Wikipedia

  • Prohibition (disambiguation) — Prohibition refers to the act of prohibiting a certain substance or act. Prohibition may refer to:*Prohibition of alcohol periods in several countries during which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages… …   Wikipedia

  • Prohibition in the United States — Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a clandestine underground brewery during the Prohibition era Prohibition in the United States (sometimes referred to as the Noble Experiment)[1] was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Prohibition — For prohibition of certain other drugs, see Prohibition (drugs). For the general concept of legal prohibition, see Prohibitionism. For other uses, see Prohibition (disambiguation). A raid in 1925, in Elk Lake, Ontario Prohibition of alcohol,… …   Wikipedia

  • Prohibition aux Etats-Unis — Prohibition Pour les articles homonymes, voir Prohibition (homonymie). Une descente de police à Elk Lake, Ontario en 1925. La Prohibition f …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prohibition de l'alcool — Prohibition Pour les articles homonymes, voir Prohibition (homonymie). Une descente de police à Elk Lake, Ontario en 1925. La Prohibition f …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prohibition Party — Chairman Toby Davis Founded 1869 (1869) Ideology Temperance Website …   Wikipedia

  • CANADA — CANADA, country in northern half of North America and a member of the British Commonwealth. At the beginning of the 21st century, its population of approximately 370,000 Jews made it the world s fourth largest Jewish community after the United… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Canada Dry — is a brand of soft drinks marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, a unit of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Canada Dry is best known for its ginger ale, but also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers. Although Canada Dry originated in its… …   Wikipedia

  • Canada Dry — ist eine Getränkemarke der Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Canada Dry stammt ursprünglich aus Kanada, wird aber mittlerweile auch in vielen anderen Ländern der Erde produziert. Canada Dry unter normalem und UV Licht: Fluoreszierendes Chinin Geschichte… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”