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A police raid confiscating illegal alcoholic beverages, in Elk Lake, Ontario, in 1925.. Prohibition in Canada was a ban on alcoholic beverages that arose in various stages, from local municipal bans in the late 19th century (extending to the present in some cases), to provincial bans in the early 20th century, and national prohibition (a temporary wartime measure) from 1918 to 1920.
The Ontario Temperance Act was a law passed in 1916 that led to the prohibition of alcohol in Ontario, Canada.When the Act was first enacted, the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but liquor could still be manufactured in the province or imported.
Between 1916 and 1919, prohibition legislation passed in all the provinces. The sale of alcoholic liquors, except for medical and scientific purposes, was prohibited, with medical need being interpreted loosely with liquor sold by pharmacists. In 1920, eight of the nine provinces of Canada decided to continue prohibition after the war.
The Temperance movement started long before Ontario enacted the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916, and for more reasons than social or wartime issues. Fighting for absolute temperance, Prohibition advocates lobbied for this in the 1850s at the Provincial level, and eventually got the right to vote for Prohibition at the municipal level, or otherwise known as "local option".
If it were once conceded that the Parliament of Canada has authority to make laws applicable to the whole Dominion, in relation to matters which in each province are substantially of local or private interest, upon the assumption that these matters also concern the peace, order, and good government of the Dominion, there is hardly a subject ...
The Canada Temperance Act [1] (French: Loi de tempérance du Canada), [a] also known as the Scott Act, [b] was an Act of the Parliament of Canada passed in 1878, which provided for a national framework for municipalities to opt in by plebiscite to a scheme of prohibition. It was repealed in 1984.
The government also declared that referendums on prohibition would no longer take place and the issue would be dealt with by the legislature. [4] In the subsequent 1926 election the Conservatives ran on a platform of repealing the Ontario Temperance Act, and maintained a majority while increasing their share of the popular vote by 7%.
A plebiscite on prohibition was held in Canada on 29 September 1898, the first national referendum in the country's history. [1] The Liberal government had made an election promise in 1896 to provide an opportunity for Canadians to register their opinions about the sale of alcohol. [ 2 ]