History of Liquor Regulation

1878

The Canada Temperance Act gives provinces the power to ban the sale of alcohol if supported by a majority vote. More than 20 years pass before any province uses this power.

Manitoba’s first provincial liquor commission is establishedThe commission allows one bar for every 300 people in the province.

Taming the fur trade

Liquor is an important factor in the fur trade. Early liquor laws are mostly an attempt to control the violence erupting around trading posts.