Rabbit Trails in Research Lead to Prohibition in Canada

Did you know Canada enacted Prohibition, but it spanned from 1864 to as late as 1948 in various forms?

Shocking. I know.

I didn’t even know Canada had prohibition until a rabbit trail in my research about the Titanic led me to Prohibition. Sadly, I don’t recall any of these facts from my high school Canadian history classes. Perhaps we touched on it, but perhaps not. Obviously it didn’t make an impression on me if we did.

What I discovered is that prohibition is Canada is convoluted. At best.

In 1864, the Dunkin Act (The Canada Temperance Act) was passed, allowing any counties or municipalities to prohibit the retail sale of alcohol if supported by a regional majority vote. Some municipalities exercised this option.

In 1874, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union was established in Canada, with the help of our American friend, Frances Willard. (The work of the WCTU is so fascinating – many of the social structures Canadians experience today directly resulted from their tireless efforts at the turn of the century.) Though the WCTU became more political south of the border, the Canadian organization remained rooted in their evangelical roots, motivated by those beliefs rather than by political gain (there will be more posts on this topic so stay tuned!).

In 1898 there was a federal vote, passing the Prohibition Act by 51%. Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier decided not to enforce a nation-wide alcohol prohibition for various reasons.

In 1901, Prince Edward Island became the first province to enact prohibition, which lasted nearly a half century. They ended the province-wide prohibition in 1948. The act replaced all previous acts, preventing the sale and consumption of alcohol as a beverage. Alcohol was still available in the province but had to be purchased through a vendor. And then, for medicinal purposes only. The vendors were doctors, chemists and druggists (pharmacies).

In 1915, Canada implemented the War Measures Act which included nationwide Prohibition (minus Yukon and Quebec, which is another interesting rabbit trail to follow as to the reasons the Act didn’t include these two provinces). Prohibition varied from province to province. The terms were different and provincial governments had the freedom to enforce them, however they saw fit. For example, in Ontario you could brew or distil alcohol and export it BUT you couldn’t sell it OR consume it in Ontario.

Canadians considered nationwide Prohibition a patriotic duty, while our boys were overseas fighting in the Great War. The least we could do at home was sacrifice our vices. And we needed wheat more for food than for quenching thirst.

1918 sees a ban on the interprovincial sale of alcohol.

USA begins their Prohibition in 1919, which creates an interesting interaction between our countries. The Noble Experiment lasts until 1933.

Prohibition ends in various provinces over the next few years: 1923 Manitoba, 1924 Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1927 Ontario, 1948 PEI.

I’ve given you a basic overview of Prohibition in Canada, but there are more dates and adjustments to the alcohol bans. Provinces eventually created overseeing bodies which resulted in the Liquor Control boards still in place today. When, why, and how these bodies came into existence vary a great deal.