The Canadian Brewing Industry’s Response to Prohibition, 1878-1919

"It has long been the position of historians of all stripes that prohibition was destined to become a potent factor in Canadian life during the early twentieth century. For their part, historians of Canadian business have been preoccupied with how the nation’s brewers overcame the profit-quashing challenges of the prohibition era. The existing historiography is without exception complimentary of the ingenious efforts of Canadian brewers and their ability to survive during this “difficult” period and to “make the most of their opportunities.” Contrary to the established position, this paper argues that the unwillingness and inability of the brewing industry to organize itself and lobby against prohibition effectively, as well as its failure to reach out to other anti-prohibitionists in society, were as much factors in the onset and continuation of the prohibition of beer as the actions of prohibitionists."