referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held on October 23, 1924 on the repeal of the ''

Ontario Temperance Act The ''Ontario Temperance Act'' was a law passed in 1916 that led to the prohibition of alcohol in Ontario, Canada. When the Act was first enacted, the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but liquor could still be manufactured in the province or importe ...

''. The referendum was brought about by a clause in the Act, which permitted the possible repeal of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

by a majority vote. The referendum upheld prohibition, albeit by the narrowest majority of all of Ontario's prohibition referendums; in 1927, prohibition would be repealed with the passing of the '' Liquor Licence Act''.

Referendum question

#''Are you in favour of the continuance of the Ontario Temperance Act?'' #''Are you in favour of the sale as a beverage of
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
and spirituous liquor in sealed packages under government control?''

Unlike past referendums, the 1924 referendum was not a yes/no question; instead, voters indicated their support for either the first statement or the second.

Results

Temperance passed by the smallest majority of any of the prohibition referendums. The cities of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Ottawa and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, areas where the ruling

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

drew most of their support, voted overwhelmingly in favour of Question 2. Four months later, the party's

throne speech A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining th ...

announced intentions to begin debate on permitting the sale of a beer with a maximum alcohol content of 4.4%, which gained the nicknamed "Fergie's Foam" after Premier

George Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provinc ...

. The government also declared that referendums on prohibition would no longer take place; the issue would be dealt with by the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. In the subsequent 1926 election the Conservatives ran on a platform of repealing the ''Ontario Temperance Act'', and maintained a majority while increasing their share of the popular vote by 7%. The Conservatives took the results as justification to repeal prohibition, and in 1927 passed the '' Liquor Licence Act''. The act repealed the ''Ontario Temperance Act'' and created the

Liquor Control Board of Ontario The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Provinces of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislati ...

(LCBO), a crown corporation that brought about government control over the distribution of liquor. Brewers Retail Inc., a privately owned association of brewers overseen by the government, was created to regulate the sale of beer. While some communities would pressure local governments to limit the sale of liquor until as late as the 1990s, notably portions of west Toronto as a result of efforts by

William Horace Temple William Horace (Bill) Temple (28 November 1898 – 9 April 1988), nicknamed "Temperance Bill" or "Temperance Willie", was a Canadian democratic socialist politician, trade union activist, businessman and temperance crusader. As a youth he wo ...

, for all intents and purposes official temperance in Ontario had ended.

References

Bibliography

* {{Ontario elections 1924 in Ontario 1924 referendums 1924 elections in Canada Ontario prohibition referendums October 1924 events

Referendum question

Results

See also

References

Bibliography