Alberta’s War on Booze

Long before Al Capone and his ilk began making millions of dollars peddling their prohibition libations to a thirsty throng south of the 49^th Parallel, Canada had experimented with years of its own brand of booze-banning dating back to 1875. None were really successful, as the Northwest Mounted Police, sparse in numbers with a vast new territory to patrol, were preoccupied with other priorities such as an influx of immigrants settling wide open prairies, enforcing Indian treaties, quelling Metis uprisings, and generally attempting to bring law and order to a rapidly evolving and expanding country.

Like all prohibitions on any commodity before and since, when there is a demand for a product, some enterprising individual is going to find a way to supply their customer. Despite the federal alcohol prohibition, there was no shortage of product on the Prairies. In fact, alcohol abuse was so rampant that entire crops were not planted or harvested due to farmers being on a drinking binge. Recognizing the utter flop in its prohibition program, the ban was ended in 1892, eventually ceding governance of alcohol to the provinces in 1898.

On July 01, 1916, Dominion Day (a Saturday), Alberta began enforcing its own prohibition, three and a half years before the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution in the United States that would usher in the most prolific growth to organized crime in that country.

Alberta’s prohibition was bedeviled from the start with enough loopholes through which one could toss a keg. A prescription from a doctor could get one medicinal alcohol, and beer with 2.5% alcohol by volume was legal. Curiously, booze imported from other provinces was legal. The criminal underworld would seize this opportunity to supply thirsty farmers and city folk alike.

Entrepreneurial Albertans set up illegal stills in every conceivable building – barns, garages, churches, houses, and commercial buildings were transformed into lucrative home-based businesses. The money flowed as easily as the booze.

The sheer failure of prohibition in Alberta came to an end on May 10, 1924, when the provincial government began regulating the sale of alcohol and imposing draconian rules that carried forth for seven decades until finally turning over the public sale of alcohol to the private sector in 1993.

Alberta’s Windfall From Alcohol

According to its 2014-2015 Annual Report, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) nets just shy of 782 million dollars from wholesaling alcohol throughout the province, up from just over 758 million dollars the year prior. Contributions from alcohol and gaming operations are contributed back to the Government of Alberta’s General Revenue Fund. In 2014-2015, alcohol’s contribution to Alberta’s General Revenue Fund was approximately 766 million dollars, up from 747 million dollars the year prior.

Worlds Away From Prohibition

Today, AGLC offers consumers 20,105 different alcohol products, helping Albertans consume more than 3.8 million hectolitres (1 Hectolitre = 100 Litres) in 2014-2015. Based on population figures, AGLC data would indicate Albertans consumed around 98 litres during that year for every man, woman, and child.

Albertans Love Their Beer

74.1% of all alcohol sold in Alberta was beer during 2014-2015.  During the same period, approximately 11.5% was wine, Coolers and Cider represented 7.1% and Spirits represented 7.2%.