Answering the question of why prohibition failed in Canada requires a complex response. A multitude of factors contributed to the unraveling on this attempt at legislating morality. Some of the major ideological flaws within prohibition included a lack of overall disrespect for the new laws created by the movement, legislative acts that were not functionally sound, the fact that prohibition had gained significant support as a wartime measure, along with a public that continued to explicitly agree with temperance while being implicitly against it as evidenced by the fact that alcohol consumption was not really curbed by prohibition at all, contributed to the eventual, and unavoidable end, of prohibition.
With the temperance movement and prohibition, …show more content…
In 1896, the Local Prohibition case ended with the results the people wanted -- federal jurisdiction had the power to control manufacture of wholesale liquor and provinces had the power to control sale, licensing, and transport within their borders (Module 6, Mini Lecture 1). The results of this case show that, despite a very vocal group in favor of total prohibition, a great many more were not. Of course, many were totally opposed to prohibition, but moderates had their own ideas of a solution as well -- they were seeking better regulation without a complete ban, and, if people on either end of the extreme were a bit more rational, the middle ground approach may have been established much sooner. This approach is best exemplified by the Manitoba Moderation League. Their goal was to establish governmental regulation rather than prohibition (Thompson …show more content…
As a wartime measure, and in response to the rampant extreme alcoholism in various locales across the country, there was indeed a need for an extreme response. Prohibition served that purpose, but Canada would not always be under those constraints. Eventually, the economy picked back up; people had more leisure time, and a move towards secularism began. Each of these major shifts, along with all of the bumps along the way, such as the financial incentive which caused people to break prohibitory laws, the fact that social actors like law officers and governmental officials did not follow the laws they implemented, and the ill-advised legislation on prohibition in general, resulted in the inevitable dissolution of prohibition in
With the temperance movement and prohibition, …show more content…
In 1896, the Local Prohibition case ended with the results the people wanted -- federal jurisdiction had the power to control manufacture of wholesale liquor and provinces had the power to control sale, licensing, and transport within their borders (Module 6, Mini Lecture 1). The results of this case show that, despite a very vocal group in favor of total prohibition, a great many more were not. Of course, many were totally opposed to prohibition, but moderates had their own ideas of a solution as well -- they were seeking better regulation without a complete ban, and, if people on either end of the extreme were a bit more rational, the middle ground approach may have been established much sooner. This approach is best exemplified by the Manitoba Moderation League. Their goal was to establish governmental regulation rather than prohibition (Thompson …show more content…
As a wartime measure, and in response to the rampant extreme alcoholism in various locales across the country, there was indeed a need for an extreme response. Prohibition served that purpose, but Canada would not always be under those constraints. Eventually, the economy picked back up; people had more leisure time, and a move towards secularism began. Each of these major shifts, along with all of the bumps along the way, such as the financial incentive which caused people to break prohibitory laws, the fact that social actors like law officers and governmental officials did not follow the laws they implemented, and the ill-advised legislation on prohibition in general, resulted in the inevitable dissolution of prohibition in