Anti-intoxication Nation Prohibition in the 1920s

Definition of Prohibition  Prohibition of alcohol is banning the making, movement and sale of alcohol  Spanned for as much as 48 years in PEI  Quebec never passed prohibition legislation Prohibition in Canada ProvinceYear Started Year Ended PEI NS ON MB AB NB SK YK BC QCNo Prohibition

Canadian Laws on Liquor  Canadian laws on liquor split the responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments  The Federal government controlled: The manufacturing of alcohol The importation of alcohol The exporting of alcohol  Provincial governments controlled: Drinking age Sales of alcohol Consumption of alcohol

Problems with Drunks  Many men would waste their pay checks on alcohol  Drunkenness also led to crime and unsafe driving  Many people felt that the grain used to make alcohol should have been sent to the soldiers in the trenches

The Temperance Movement  The temperance movement arose in the early 20 th century  Its aim was to ban alcohol because they thought it was responsible for many of society’s problems  Religious groups and many women who had just received the right to vote formed temperance groups

Aims of Prohibition  Prohibition aimed to: Lower crime rates Lessen instances of child and wife abuse Cause men to become better providers Assist the war effort

Early Success  Prohibition had a promising start: Alcohol consumption lowered by 80% Crime rates decreased Fewer cases of abuse Men provided for their families, took less days off work

The Downfall of Dryness  Soon arose: Moonshine Bootleggers Speakeasies/Blind Pigs  Organised crime led to rich criminals and poorer provinces  Lost freedom

Famous Bootleggers: Al Capone  Most famous bootlegger ever  Boss of Chicago Outfit  Seen in Moose Jaw, Sask. from time to time  “I don’t even know what street Canada is on”  Convicted for tax evasion: 11 years in Alcatraz

Famous Bootleggers: Bronfman Brothers  Two Jewish immigrants form Montreal saw opportunity in the U.S. prohibition in 1924  Smuggled liquor into the U.S. and became rich under the alias “Mr. Norton”  Four years later they owned the largest distillery in the world

Famous Bootleggers: SS I’m Alone  Canadian rum- running ship, built in Britain  Smuggling liquor form Belize to Louisiana  Sank by US Coast Guard, pursued from 321 km

What we learned  We learned that when legislating the prohibition of alcohol, without enormous enforcement, its effectiveness becomes very limited over time.

Dry towns in Canada  Govenlock, Saskatchewan, now a ghost town  Old Crow, Yukon is a dry Gwich‘in community on the Porcupine River  The city of Owen Sound, Ontario continued to outlaw liquor well into the 1970s  Steinbach, Manitoba did not allow the sale of liquor within city limits until 2011  Verdun, Quebec only recently ended a 45-year ban on bars and taverns in the community, in December 2010

Picture Citations  (Joel)  MtsMew/S88DZ_R_DlI/AAAAAAAAAvc/99ETZIb0u_Q/s1600/3c 23257v.jpg (Aaren) MtsMew/S88DZ_R_DlI/AAAAAAAAAvc/99ETZIb0u_Q/s1600/3c 23257v.jpg  tory-canada-us-border-smuggling.html (Joel) tory-canada-us-border-smuggling.html  movement.html (Aaren) movement.html  dgangsters.htm (Aaren) dgangsters.htm  home-the-bacon/ (Aaren) home-the-bacon/  gangsters.html (Joel) gangsters.html

Info Citations  Canada: Face of a Nation, Textbook (Aaren and Joel)  ne/history-canada-us-border-smuggling.html (Joel) ne/history-canada-us-border-smuggling.html  bition (Aaren) bition  erance-movement (Aaren) erance-movement