1915 Alberta liquor plebiscite

September 2023 Do you approve of the proposed act, the "Liquor Act" ? Alberta 1915 07 21 58,295 37,509 95,554 1,649 The 1915 Alberta liquor plebiscite was the first plebiscite to ask Alberta voters to decide on a public issue. The 1915 question was whether Alberta should implement prohibition by ratifying the proposed Liquor Act. The plebiscite was the culmination of years of lobbying by the province's temperance movements and agricultural groups, and was forced by the submission of a 24,000-name petition under a recently implemented direct democracy law, the Direct Legislation Act. Alberta voters voted in favour of prohibition, which was implemented eleven months after the vote. The June 21, 1915 plebiscite was the first of three province-wide plebiscites held in a seven-year period related to liquor in Alberta. Background Prohibition in the North-West Territories Prohibition was not a new concept for Albertans since prior to the creation of the Province of Alberta in 1905, prohibition had been law in the North-West Territories from 1873 to 1891.Hamill 2014 34Majority For Liquor Act In Neighborhood of 20,000 The Calgary Daily Herald July 22, 1915 1 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UgpkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wXoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1601%2C1466714 January 14, 2021 Prohibition time was then a federal policy intended to prevent the Territories' Indigenous population from purchasing liquor from American whiskey traders, but white settlers were permitted to import liquor with easily-available approval from the Lieutenant Governor.Hamill 2014 37–38 In 1891, prohibition was repealed in the North-West Territories with the Liquor License Ordinance, which was administered by the Board of License Commissioners, rather than the local government, following the model already in place in Ontario and Manitoba.Hamill 2014 44 The ordinance allowed a hotels in communities to be issued a license to serve liquor. A community with less than 500 people was limited to two licensed establishments, with each additional 500 persons being allowed the maximum number of licensed establishments in the community increase by one.Hamill 2014 45 The ordinance also required licensed hotels to provide food and lodging.Hamill 2014 46 Liquor laws were enforced by liquor inspectors, and an order by two concurring justices of the peace could prevent a person from buying liquor for one year if the individual was known to drink excessively.Hamill 2014 47 Prohibition remained a significant national issue in the late-19th century, and during the 1896 Canadian federal election, Wilfrid Laurier promised that a Liberal government would provide Canadians with the opportunity to register their opinion on the sale of liquor. In the non-binding 1898 Canadian prohibition plebiscite a slim majority of the country approved prohibition, with 51.26 per cent in favour with 44 per cent of the electorate participating. In the North-West Territories, which included present-day Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of Manitoba, prohibition was approved by a clear majority with 68.8 per cent of voters. Despite the slim national majority, Laurier's government chose not to introduce a federal bill on prohibition. Direct legislation After Alberta attained provincehood in 1905, the movement for direct legislation took form. The Grain Growers Guide published articles about the benefits of direct legislation, and the growing United Farmers of Alberta pressured the Liberal government starting in 1909. It was promoted by the Conservative Party, in March 1912 and finally came to fruition with the Direct Legislation Act in 1913.Hamill 2014 54Thomas 1959 139Edmonton Bulletin, March 26, 1913 The minority Conservative Party also sought to capitalize on the prohibition issue prior to the 1913 election, with the party convention in March 1912 committing to holding a plebiscite on prohibition.Thomas 1959 138 The Liberal government was less willing to commit to prohibition since it recognized the revenue generated through licensing.Thomas 1959 139 The Liberals instead advocated for incremental changes through reform to improve conditions related to liquor.Thomas 1959 139 The temperance movement quickly responded to the new tool of direct legislation by providing a petition signed by 23,656 persons for a "Prohibitory Liquor Act" to Premier Arthur Sifton. Under the law, he had to pass such a law or hold a referendum on the issue. The premier tabled the petition in the 3rd Alberta Legislature on October 13, 1914.Alberta. Legislative Assembly 1914 23 Sifton created a special committee to study the petition consisting of Members George P. Smith, John M. Glendenning, and Albert Ewing.Alberta. Legislative Assembly 1914 26 A week later on October 19, the special committee declared the petition conformed with the requirements of the Direct Legislation Act, and the Legislature moved for the Liquor Act to be submitted to a vote of the electors.Alberta. Legislative Assembly 1914 58 The referendum date was set for July 21, 1915. Arguments on prohibition thumb|left|Louise McKinney, President of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Union of the Women's Christian Temperance Movement Prohibition was pushed forward primarily by two temperance groups, the Women's Christian Temperance Movement (WCTM) and the Temperance and Moral Reform League (TMRL), as well as the United Farmers of Alberta.Hamill 2014 55–56 The TMRL shared many of the same ideals as the WCTM but was structured to mirror a political party, with a central executive and local organizations in each of Alberta's electoral districts.Hamill 2014 55–56 The president of the TMRL during the runup to the plebiscite was T. H. Miller.Hopkins 1916 695 Both the WCTM and the TMRL sought to ensure that temperance MLAs were elected, irrespective of party,Hamill 2014 56Sheehan 1980 130 and that strong representation existed politically in Alberta with temperance values being shared by Lieutenant Governor George H. V. Bulyea, Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford, Crown Minister William Henry Cushing, and Conservative leader R. B. Bennett.Sheehan 1980 130 Additional arguments for prohibition were printed in William McCartney Davidson's Calgary Albertan.Dempsey 2010 10 The WTCM named Louise McKinney President of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Union of the organization in 1908, and McKinney led the WTCM through the prohibition plebiscite.Sheehan 1980 120 Two years after the plebiscite, McKinney was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1917 general election and became the first woman legislator in the British Empire.Sheehan 1980 121 The public proponents of prohibition were primarily preachers and newspapers and effectively drew comparisons between the struggle of soldiers in the First World War fight against the "evil" Central Powers and the temperance campaign's battle against the "evil" of liquor.Crerar 2006 391–392 Other strong arguments made by proponents of prohibition included the better use of valuable grains for the war effort, rather than alcohol, and showing alcoholics as wasteful with money and neglectful of their family obligations.Crerar 2006 391–392Sheehan 1980 132 The TMRL released a statement estimating that liquor sales in Alberta cost the public $12,292,215 per year (CA 12292215 1915 eq CAD$) and prepared a $30,000 budget to campaign on the issue.Hopkins 1916 695 The TMRL campaign included bringing speakers in from across Canada and the United States to discuss the benefits of prohibition, including the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party Newton Rowell.Hopkins 1916 695 One major surprise for proponents of prohibition was Bob Edwards's public support in his newspaper the Calgary Eye-Opener, despite his reputation as an alcoholic.Crerar 2006 391–392 thumb|right|A Calgary Sunday school promoting the prohibition vote Arguments against prohibition were made primarily by [[Ukrainian Canadians ]], French Canadians, and some of the soldiera. The groups often brought in American speakers to discuss the failures of prohibition, and their efforts were subsequently branded as unpatriotic by proponents of prohibition, as the United States had yet to enter the First World War.Crerar 2006 391–392 Opposition by men aged 18 to 40 was limited, as many were shipped overseas for the war effort.Sheehan 1980 132 Other arguments included that the Liquor Act was ineffective at closing liquor channels, government liquor vendors were a potential source for corruption, drug stores would become liquor stores and physicians would become liquor salesmen, and liquor would still be accessible by the rich while the working class would not have the same access to liquor.Hopkins 1916 695 Furthermore, those against prohibition noted that many US states had repealed their prohibition laws.Hopkins 1916 695 The anti-prohibition groups brought in the speaker A. C. Windle, who vividly described the issues that would arise from prohibition, including a loss of economic activity and jobs for bartenders, hotels employees, truck drivers, and others.Dempsey 2010 11 The two major Alberta newspapers, the Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal, argued against prohibition and instead favored the idea of temperance without legal consequences.Dempsey 2010 10 Aftermath The province voted by a large majority in favour of the new Liquor Act, which enforced prohibition on the province effective July 1, 1916, eleven months after the vote.Dempsey 2010 12 The results of the plebiscite were binding. The aftermath for hotels and clubs was challenging, and many closed down or sold out prior to the Liquor Act coming into force.Dempsey 2010 13 A large number flocked to the hotels and bars on June 30, 1916 on the last day of liquor service, but bar operators found it difficult to estimate necessary liquor supplies adequately, as they did not want surplus inventory.Dempsey 2010 13 Red Deer bars ran dry on June 29, and Calgary bars were reported to have run out of beer by noon of June 30.Dempsey 2010 13 Reporters in Edmonton observed patrons lining up to purchase liquor to take home, rather than consume the alcohol in the bar.Dempsey 2010 13 The historian Hugh Dempsey noted that the last day before prohibition was a celebration across Alberta, with minimal disruption or arrests by prepared police officers.Dempsey 2010 15 Prohibition proved to be difficult for the government to administer, with the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) refusing to enforce the resource intensive law. Prohibition, the reduced manpower from the First World War, and additional domestic wartime responsibilities resulted in the Alberta government agreeing to withdraw the NWMP and form the Alberta Provincial Police in March 1917. Albertans found numerous ways around prohibition, including drinking spirits under 2.5 per cent alcohol Hamill 2014 67 and private importation, which were barred under federal law during First World War and then again after 1920, Hamill 2014 68 and alcohol for medicinal purposes.Hamill 2014 69 Alberta's Liquor Act did not prohibit the manufacturing of liquor in Alberta.Hamill 2014 67 The financial consequence of prohibition to the Alberta government was significant. Revenue from government-controlled liquor sales dropped to nearly zero in 1916 and did not start to recover until 1919, when doctors began writing wholesale prescriptions in the wake of the Spanish flu. It was estimated that the population rejecting the plebiscite would have resulted in the government deficit being reduced by at least $1 million annually.Hanson 2003 81 The government had reported an income from liquor licenses in 1914 of $251,575.Hopkins 1916 698 In 1920, the government of Canada held a national plebiscite on prohibition, and Albertans once again voted in favor of maintaining prohibition and banning the importation of liquor across provincial borders, which meant a return to the federal First World War prohibition law. However, the margin was smaller, with 60.55 per cent in favor.Sheehan 1980 133 The Alberta government held another plebiscite in 1923. This time, the electorate overwhelmingly approved government controlled liquor sales and ending prohibition in Alberta seven years after it had begun.Sheehan 1980 133 Tabulation of results Province wide returnsOptionVotesAlberta. Legislative Assembly 1915 609–610%Yes58,29560.85%No37,50939.15%Total95,804100%Rejected, spoiled and declined1,649Returns by districtFull Results of Plebiscite Vote http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/newspapers/WKT/1915/08/26/2/Ar00205.html July 20, 2021 Wetaskiwin Times August 26, 1915 2DistrictYes%No%TotalYes/noAcadia1,66081.02%38918.98%2,249YesAlexandra 811 70.10% 346 29.90% 1,157YesAthabasca 397 43.67% 512 56.33% 909NoBeaver River 280 27.37% 743 72.63% 1,023NoBow Valley 265 47.49% 293 52.51% 558NoCentre Calgary 1,442 55.59% 1,152 44.41% 2,594YesNorth Calgary 2,189 61.70% 1,359 38.30% 3,548YesSouth Calgary 3,994 63.78% 2,268 36.22% 6,262YesCamrose 1,933 72.45% 735 27.55% 2,668YesCardston 761 79.35% 198 20.65% 959YesClaresholm 664 71.09% 270 28.91% 934YesClearwater 57 63.33% 33 36.67% 90YesCochrane 614 71.73% 242 28.27% 856YesCoronation 1,475 70.31% 623 29.69% 2,098YesDidsbury 1,535 78.76% 414 21.24% 1,949YesEdmonton 5,700 62.73% 3,386 37.27% 9,086YesEdmonton South 2,258 66.55% 1,135 33.45% 3,393YesEdson 511 46.29% 593 53.71% 1,104NoGleichen 818 61.69% 508 38.31% 1,326YesGrouard 168 26.05% 477 73.95% 645NoHand Hills 1,730 70.33% 730 29.67% 2,460YesHigh River 815 72.06% 316 27.94% 1,131YesInnisfail 784 71.79% 308 28.21% 1,092YesLac Ste. Anne 402 39.37% 619 60.63% 1,021NoLacombe 1,471 78.41% 405 21.59% 1,876YesLeduc 694 58.81% 486 41.19% 1,180YesLethbridge City 989 34.58% 1,871 65.42% 2,860NoLittle Bow 1,029 69.25% 457 30.75% 1,486YesMacleod 450 52.39% 409 47.61% 859YesMedicine Hat 2,600 58.52% 1,843 41.48% 4,443YesNanton 689 74.17% 240 25.83% 929YesOkotoks 512 57.66% 376 42.34% 888YesOlds 958 69.37% 423 30.63% 1,381YesPeace River 720 61.22% 456 38.78% 1,176YesPembina 598 58.74% 420 41.26% 1,018YesPincher Creek 384 45.99% 451 54.01% 835NoPonoka 701 64.55% 385 35.45% 1,086YesRed Deer 1,221 71.49% 487 28.51% 1,708YesRedcliff 771 48.13% 831 51.87% 1,602NoRibstone 1,118 69.88% 482 30.13% 1,600YesRocky Mountain 881 38.76% 1,392 61.24% 2,273NoSedgewick 1,447 72.17% 558 27.83% 2,005YesSt. Albert 315 29.83% 741 70.17% 1,056NoStettler 1,478 68.65% 675 31.35% 2,153YesSt. Paul 239 26.85% 651 73.15% 890NoStony Plain 42 6.70% 585 93.30% 627NoSturgeon 851 49.74% 860 50.26% 1,711NoTaber 1,602 66.64% 802 33.36% 2,404YesVegreville 1,164 62.88% 687 37.12% 1,851YesVermilion 1,164 62.88% 687 37.12% 1,851YesVictoria 790 56.55% 607 43.45% 1,397NoWainwright 903 62.49% 542 37.51% 1,445YesWarner 414 56.17% 323 43.83% 737YesWetaskiwin 943 65.71% 492 34.29% 1,435YesWhitford 415 40.81% 602 59.19% 1,017No Turnout The Government of Alberta did not provide an official turnout for the 1915 Alberta liquor plebiscite, however the estimated turnout would have been around 70 per cent of eligible voters. A total of 95,804 people voted in the plebiscite, while the population of the province in 1911 was 374,000, with a voting population of approximately 107,487, which is estimated to have increased to between 136,000 and 140,000 by 1915.Hamill 2014 77Dempsey 2010 11 References Works cited Crerar Duff Wetherell Donald Grant Payne Michael Cavanaugh Catherine Alberta formed, Alberta transformed 2006 University of Alberta Press Edmonton 978-1-55238-196-0 Enthusiasm Embattled Dempsey Hugh A. The day Alberta went dry Alberta History Spring 2010 58 2 A233501473 0316-1552 Hamill Sarah E. M. From Prohibition to Administrative Regulation: The Battle for Liquor Control in Alberta, 1916 to 1939 2014 10.7939/R3T727Q37 free University of Alberta Edmonton Hanson Eric J. Eric J. Hanson's financial history of Alberta, 1905-1950 2003 University of Calgary Press Calgary, Alta. English Hopkins J. Castell The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, 1915 1916 The Annual Review Publishing Company Toronto https://archive.org/details/canadianannualre0000unse Sheehan Nancy M. Temperance, Education and The WCTU in Alberta, 1905–1930 The Journal of Educational Thought August 1980 14 2 108–124 23768682 10.7939/R3R20S542 free 0022-0701 Lewis Gwynne Thomas The Liberal Party in Alberta https://archive.org/details/liberalpartyinal0000thom registration 1959 University of Toronto Press Toronto, Ontario 9780802050830 Primary Sources Alberta Gazette 1915 Queen's Printer Edmonton XI Alberta. Legislative Assembly https://cdm22007.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p22007coll9/id/474181 January 14, 2021 Journals, Second Session of the Third Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta 1914 Queen's Printer Edmonton X Alberta. Legislative Assembly https://archive.org/details/ableg_33398003529277_1 Further reading Hamill Sarah E. Prohibition Plebiscites on the Prairies: (Not-So) Direct Legislation and Liquor Control in Alberta, 1915–1932 Law and History Review May 2015 33 2 377–410 10.1017/S0738248015000097 147335687 0738-2480 https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/15629/8/lhr%20aam%20version%202.pdf McCallum Riane Shaw Amy Historicity: Essays on the History of Southern Alberta 2017 University of Lethbridge Banish the Bar! Temperance Campaigns in Alberta, Late 1800s - Early 1900s 85–119 https://opus.uleth.ca/bitstream/handle/10133/5381/Shaw-historiCity-essays.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Category:1915 elections in Canada 1915 Category:July 1915 in North America Category:1915 in Alberta