The ''Canada Temperance Act'' (), also known as the ''Scott Act'', was an Act of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

passed in 1878, which provided for a national framework for municipalities to opt in by

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

to a scheme 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 alcoholic b ...

. It was repealed in 1984.

Pre-Confederation colonial legislation

Temperance legislation of general application had been enacted by the various colonies as early as 1855, when

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

implemented total

to mixed success. Others, beginning with the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

on the passage of the ''Dunkin Act'' in 1864, named after its sponsor Christopher Dunkin, opted to allow local municipalities to implement temperance upon an approval by

. The Act proved to be problematic in its operation following the division of the Province into

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In ''Ex parte O'Neill'', RJQ 24 SC 304, it was held that the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

could not repeal the ''Dunkin Act'', but it could pass a concurrent statute for regulating liquor traffic within the province. It was also later held that the Parliament of Canada could not repeal that Act with respect only to Ontario.

Post-Confederation

The provinces continued to enact temperance legislation after the establishment of

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

in 1867. Ontario passed the ''Crooks Act'' in 1876 to provide for the limiting of licences granted by municipal councils in areas not otherwise subject to the ''Dunkin Act''. The Parliament of Canada shortly followed afterwards with the passage of the ''Scott Act'', which offered

local option A local option is the ability of local political jurisdictions, typically counties or municipalities, to allow decisions on certain controversial issues within their borders, usually referring to a popular vote. It usually relates to the issue of ...

within a national scheme, followed in 1883 by the ''McCarthy Act'', named after its sponsor, Dalton McCarthy, and its national licensing system. In 1917, provision was made to suspend the operation of the Act if provincial temperance legislation was determined to be as restrictive in application.

Application

The Act was brought into effect in 17 municipalities: {, class="wikitable" , +Implementation of Canada Temperance Act , - !Province !!Year !!Area , - , rowspan="7", New Brunswick , rowspan="5", 1879 ,

Albert County Albert County (2021 population 30,749) is New Brunswick's third-youngest county, located on the Western side of the Petitcodiac River on the Chignecto Bay in the Bay of Fundy; the shire town is Hopewell Cape. The county was established in 1 ...

, - , Carleton County , - , Kings County , - , Queens County , - , York County , - , rowspan="2", 1880 , Northumberland County , - , Westmorland County , - , rowspan="2", Manitoba , 1880 , Electoral District of Marquette , - , 1881 , Electoral District of Lisgar , - , rowspan="3", Nova Scotia , 1881 , Digby , - , 1884 , Yarmouth , - , 1885 , Guysborough , - , {Quebec , 1913 ,

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...

, - , rowspan="4", Ontario , 1913 , Manitoulin District , - , rowspan="2", 1914 , Huron County , - , Perth County (excluding Stratford) , - , 1915 , Peel County

Legal controversy

The Act was the subject of several constitutional challenges, many of which were of major importance in developing the jurisprudence underlying

Canadian federalism Canadian federalism () involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada. Canada is a federation with eleven components: the national Government of Canada and ten Provinces and territories of Canada, p ...

: :* ''Severn v The Queen'' (holding that an Ontario Act requiring the licensing of liquor wholesalers and manufacturers was unconstitutional for infringing on the federal jurisdiction over trade and commerce) :* ''City of Fredericton v The Queen'' (the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

held that the ''Canada Temperance Act'' was a valid exercise of the trade and commerce power), later overturned by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

in '' Russell v. The Queen'' (which declared that the Act fell under the power relating to peace, order and good government) :* '' Hodge v The Queen'' (which introduced the double aspect doctrine and declared that the provinces' jurisdiction under Section 92 was plenary in nature) :* the '' Local Prohibition Case'' (which held that prohibition fell under both federal and provincial jurisdiction and clarified the nature of both federal and provincial powers) When prohibition in Ontario was relaxed in 1927, a

reference question In law of Canada, Canadian law, a reference question or reference case (formally called abstract review) is a submission by the Canadian government, federal or a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial government to the courts asking for a ...

to the

resulted in the 1935 finding that the Act still applied in the counties of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Huron and Peel. A subsequent reference question by the Province of Ontario to the

Ontario Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode H ...

resulted in a declaration that the ''Canada Temperance Act'' was constitutional, which was subsequently affirmed by the

in 1946 in '' Ontario v. Canada Temperance Federation''. Manitoulin and Peel would later hold plebiscites that revoked the application of the Act in December 1951, and Huron and Perth, the last jurisdictions in which the Act applied in Canada, would not do so until November 1959.

Repeal

The Act remained on the statute books until its repeal in 1984.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{reflist 1878 in Canadian law Canadian federal legislation Temperance movement in Canada Repealed Canadian legislation Alcohol law in Canada