1919 Quebec prohibition referendum

The Quebec referendum on the prohibition of alcohol, held on April 10, 1919,[1] considered the legalization of the sale of beer, cider and wine in the province of Quebec, Canada. The 'yes' side won with 78.62% of the votes.

Quebec Alcohol Prohibition Referendum, 1919
April 10, 1919 (1919-04-10)
Is it your opinion that the sale of light beer, cider and wines, as defined by law, should be allowed?
Voting systemSimple majority
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Yes 178,112 78.62%
No 48,433 21.38%

The question asked
In English
Is it your opinion that the sale of light beer, cider and wines, as defined by law, should be allowed?[2]
In French
Êtes-vous d'opinion que la vente des bières, cidres et vins légers, tels que définis par la loi, devrait être permise?[2]

The results of the vote

178,112 persons (78.62%) voted in favour of the proposal, while 48,433 (21.38%) voted against; proposal was therefore passed with a majority of 129,679 votes. The analysis of the vote by riding reveals that all voted in favour except for seven: Pontiac, Compton, Dorchester, Huntingdon, Brome, Stanstead and Richmond.[3]

The result of the vote was that the subsequent prohibition law which became effective on May 1, 1919 only applied to spirits. The victory of the "moderate" prohibitionists over the "radicals" did not have immediate repercussion on the legal sale of alcohol for in 1919, 90% of Quebec municipalities were prohibiting its sale locally.[4] Indeed, Trois-Rivières, Lévis, Lachine, Sainte-Agathe, Louiseville, Sainte-Rose and Terrebonne had voted for local prohibition in 1915,[5] while Quebec City had done the same on October 4, 1917.[6] All these regulations had to be rescinded, one municipality at a time.

Prohibition was finally abolished on May 1, 1921 when the Alcoholic Beverages Act creating the Commission des liqueurs du Québec entered into force.[7]

References
  1. Tenue d'un référendum sur la prohibition au Québec
  2. Cormier, Yannick (2019). "Prohibition ou tempérance : Le référendum du 10 avril 1919" [Prohibition or temperance: the referendum of 10 April 1919] (PDF). Cap-aux-Diamants (in French). 137: 12–17. at 14
  3. Lacoursière 1997, p. 136.
  4. Lacoursière 1997, p. 137.
  5. Tenue d'un vote sur la prohibition de l'alcool dans plusieurs villes québécoises
  6. Tenue d'un référendum sur la prohibition dans la ville de Québec
  7. Ville de Montréal - Centre d’histoire de Montréal - Alcool

Further reading
  • Lacoursière, Jacques (1997). Histoire populaire du Québec [People's History of Québec] (in French). Vol. 4. Sillery: Septentrion. ISBN 2894480849.
  • Prévost, Robert; Gagné, Suzanne; Phaneuf, Michel (1986). L'histoire de l'alcool au Québec [The story of alcohol in Québec] (in French). Montreal: Société des alcools du Québec. ISBN 2760402878.

See also
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