![]() | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
1. Are you in favour of the continuance of the Ontario Temperance Act? 2. Are you in favour of the sale as a beverage of beer and spirituous liquor in sealed packages under government control? | ||||||||||
Results | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A referendum was held on October 23, 1924 on the repeal of the Ontario Temperance Act . The referendum was brought about by a clause in the Act, which permitted the possible repeal of prohibition 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albeit by the narrowest majority of all of Ontario's prohibition referendums; in 1927, prohibition would be repealed with the passing of the Liquor Licence Act .
- Are you in favour of the continuance of the Ontario Temperance Act?
- Are you in favour of the sale as a beverage of beer and spirituous liquor in sealed packages under government control? [1]
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. [2]
Choice | All ridings | Ridings for OTA | Ridings for Govt control | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Ridings | Votes | % | Ridings | Votes | % | |
Ontario Temperance Act | 585,676 | 51.49 | 69 | 367,783 | 67.32 | 38 | 217,893 | 36.86 |
Government control | 551,761 | 48.51 | 178,588 | 32.68 | 373,173 | 63.14 | ||
Total | 1,137,437 | 100.00 | 546,371 | 100.00 | 591,066 | 100.00 | ||
Majority | 33,915 | 2.98 | 189,185 | 34.64 | 155,280 | 26.28 | ||
Turnout | 60.46% | 65.86% | 56.20% |
Temperance passed by the smallest majority of any of the prohibition referendums. The cities of Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and Windsor – areas where the ruling Conservative Party drew most of their support – voted overwhelmingly in favour of Question 2. [4] Four months later, the party's throne speech 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. [5] The government also declared that referendums on prohibition would no longer take place and the issue would be dealt with by the legislature. [4]
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 (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. [4] 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, [6] for all intents and purposes ended official temperance in Ontario had ended. [4]