A political and religious movement that took hold in Western Canada, from Manitoba to the Rockies began first with Temperance organizations growing to outright Prohibition movements well over one hundred years ago. It was the deeply religious Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians who were a majority during the early years of settlement who expounded the philosophy that booze was an abomination. No other prairie movement would equal its fervor. Prohibitionists campaigned and used their growing political power to influence governments, and they had proof of the many social evils; drunkenness and the associated rowdy public behavior, neglect and abuse of wives and children, etc. Over the next weeks, we will feature a brief history of the Temperance and Prohibitionist movements of the prairie West that began first in Manitoba after it became a province in 1870.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3 306-786-1722
[email protected]
.JPG;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
