A plebiscite on Nova Scotia's prohibition of alcohol sales was held on October 31, 1929. Voters authorized the repeal of the Nova Scotia Temperance Act. This result opened the door to sales of alcohol in a government monopoly of liquor outlets and created the

Nova Scotia Liquor Commission The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is the Crown corporation which controls sales of alcoholic beverages and recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the sole distributor for these products and runs all retail outlets (108 acr ...

on May 1, 1930.

Background

In August 1927, Premier

Edgar Nelson Rhodes Edgar Nelson Rhodes, (January 5, 1877 – March 15, 1942), was a Canadian parliamentarian from Nova Scotia who served as Premier of Nova Scotia from 1925 to 1930. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1908 as a memb ...

stated “Prohibition by statute in my judgement is on all fours with the attitude of the Russian Soviets who believe in rule by force rather than rule by reason”. However, he did not schedule a plebiscite at that time. The provincial election of 1928 resulted in the Conservatives losing their majority of 37 seats and receiving a smaller majority of 3 seats. Two major issues in the campaign were prohibition and old age pensions. After the election, the Royal Commission presented a report which recommended government control of liquor sales as a possible source of revenue for old age pensions. Premier Rhodes then scheduled a plebiscite.

Plebiscite questions

The plebiscite contained two questions. The first question was as follows: The second question was as follows A majority of people voted yes on each question.

Results

Government control won a decisive victory in the plebiscite, 87,647 to 58,082. It received a majority in every county but six. Only the rural counties of Annapolis, Colchester, Hants, Kings, Queens and Shelburne voted in favour of continuing prohibition.date in history Poverty wages and the origins of the NSLC: Morning File, Friday, October 30, 2015
Halifax Examiner

References

{{NS Elections 1929 elections in Canada Referendums in Nova Scotia 1929 in Nova Scotia October 1929 events 1929 referendums