BC Liquor Distribution Branch

Last updated
BC Liquor Distribution Branch
Company type Crown corporation
Industry Retail
Founded1921;103 years ago (1921)
Headquarters
Burnaby, British Columbia
,
Canada
ProductsLiquor and cannabis sales and distribution to both consumers and businesses
Owner Government of British Columbia
Number of employees
4,200
Website bcldb.com

The BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) is the governmental body responsible for distributing alcohol and cannabis products in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The BCLDB operates under the Ministry of Finance and was established in 1921 as the Liquor Control Board. [1] The BCLDB head office is located in Burnaby, with distribution centres in Delta and Kamloops.

Contents

The BCLDB is the only organization allowed to purchase, import, and distribute alcoholic beverages in British Columbia. The organization employs more than 4,200 people, [2] and operate over 230 liquor and cannabis stores (as of December 2024) under the BC Liquor Stores and BC Cannabis Stores names, found all across the province, making the BCLDB one of the top employers in the entire province. The other governmental body which is responsible for regulating and monitoring the industry is the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB), with a similar mandate. The BCLDB contributes ~1 billion Canadian dollars to the British Columbian provincial government through sales annually. [3]

History

Background

Prior to introduction of morality laws, liquor consumption in British Columbia (along with the rest of Canada) was heavy and common. Saloons were the favoured establishments for this drinking, with the core of the future city of Vancouver having been built around one such saloon operated by Gassy Jack. [4] British Columbia's demographic makeup in particular was young and heavily male-skewed, with the city of Vancouver having a 3:2 ratio of men outnumbering women. [5] For many of these men, similarly to other cities across Canada, drinking was one of the few recreational pastimes available to them, and thus drinking took on social importance in the development of a working-class subculture. [6]

With the rapid influx in immigration during the late 1800s, the increase of Canada's population and the massive, industrially driven expansion of Canadian cities, came resistance to the perceived moral threat posed by the rapid changes prompted by rapid industrialization and urbanization. One such concern and area for resistance was in the opposition to the consumption of liquor. Viewed as a moral hazard, predominantly middle class organized political opposition began to take shape in the forms of temperance movements across the Anglosphere in the mid-1800s, with groups such as the American Women's Christian Temperance Union, or WCTU, extending to British Columbia by 1882. [7] These movements sought to eradicate the culture of excessive drinking through political means and laws meant to police the conduct of morals.

There was some truth to their arguments. In Vancouver, as in other major Canadian cities, much of the time spent policing was the policing of public drunkenness: Up to 25% of arrests made in Vancouver during the early 1910s were arrests for public drunkenness. [8] It however was also tied to ethnic and racial discrimination, as ethnic enclaves such as the Chinese community and other non-Caucasian groups were perceived as driving moral decays. Restrictions would therefore first come to those groups, with indigenous Canadians forbidden from purchasing liquor licenses in 1887. [9] Chinese Canadians and other non-Caucasian groups would follow in 1910. [10] Sunday laws and other societal regulations on moral conduct in saloon behaviour such as the banning of women would follow, but lingering opposition to the Temperance movement in British Columbia prevented a full prohibition.

Prohibition and establishment

The strain placed upon Canadian society by the First World War would prove to be the factor that tilted the debate solidly in favour of the temperance movements, albeit temporarily. With resources normally available for the production of alcohol needed to fuel Canada's war effort temperance groups seized on the sudden political support offered to them Canada-wide. Attacks deriding excessive drinking and the lack of productivity of drunkards were pointed as 'aiding the Kaiser', generating popular opposition to excessive drinking. [11] By 1916, the temperance movement in British Columbia was powerful enough to call for and receive a provincial plebiscite on the consumption of alcohol. [12] With soldier's overseas ballots forbidden from being cast, the vote would pass and in 1917 a provincial law banning the purchase of alcoholic beverages would come into effect.

However, while the vote had succeeded the issue was far from settled. Hotels would continue to operate by serving "near-beer," a light beer which contained less spirits per litre than the required amount to be legally considered beer. Many would simply illegally sell beer under this guise of selling near-beer. [13] Prohibition laws were difficult for the police to enforce, allowing for illegal bootlegging to be rampant throughout the province. [14] Political opposition to the ineffective policies would soon couple with popular resentment due to the economic depression. By 1920 the Provincial Government, seeing alcohol once again become a political issue and seeking to avoid entanglement allowed a second vote, asking voters if they would prefer prohibition or government-controlled 'moderation' policies. [15] The decisive vote in favour of moderation would make British Columbia the first English-speaking province to repeal Prohibition, and prompted the government to establish a three-man Liquor Control Board in 1921 to oversee the government sale of liquor. Government agents would operate stores in communities across British Columbia, offering liquor and ostensibly giving advice on moderation. The government had economic reasonings in mind in addition to political ones; with the American Prohibition underway, it was expected that Ameican tourists would flock to British Columbia to purchase liquor. In this way, the government estimated that they could pay off the provincial debt through liquor sales in 10-15 years. [16]

Meanwhile, bootlegging to the United States had become a major economy booster for the government, as many Americans simply travelled to British Columbia to purchase alcohol, then drove it back across the border. Other bootleggers were more sophisticated with their methods, purchasing liquor licenses from the Liquor Control Board with the ostensible purpose of exporting liquor to far-off destinations in Central and South America from their warehouses in Vancouver and on the Gulf Islands. [17] The federal government was pressured by the American government to forbid this practice, but as it was fully legal under federal and provincial jurisdictions there was little they could do. To satiate the American demands, the price of the liquor export license was raised to $10,000, resulting in bootleggers simply banding together, forming liquor export groups. One such company was led by Henry Reifel, who then came to controversy with the Liquor Control Board over his financial support of the British Columbian Liberal party, with the resultant scandal eventually proving a factor in the fall of the Liberal government. [18]

High prices of liquor at government stores had been initially implemented both to maximise profit and to discourage excessive drinking in line with the province's mandate to moderate people's habits. However, this approach backfired somewhat as many British Columbians simply turned to the now widespread bootlegging industry for cheaper prices. The situation was summed up by a provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who colorfully described the situation as being "One half of Vancouver [...] bootlegging to the other 50%." [19] With pressure mounting and economic viability slipping, the Liquor Control Board made the decision to allow hotels to serve beer in their parlours under strict regulation to preserve morality laws, including the initial total ban of women and later the segregation of women from male-spaces. [20] Meanwhile, government stores steadily dropped their prices through the 1930s while preserving moral laws, seeing increased business by the end of the 1920s, though the Great Depression would soon see those sales reduced once again.

Retail

BC Liquor Stores

As of December 2024, the BCLDB operates 198 liquor stores across British Columbia. [21]

BC Cannabis Stores

On December 5, 2017, the BC provincial government determined that the BC Liquor Distribution Branch would be the sole distributor of non-medical cannabis. [22] On October 17, 2018, the day that the Cannabis Act took effect, the first cannabis store opened in Kamloops. [23] An online store also operates allowing consumers to purchase cannabis products online which is delivered by mail. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition</span> Outlawing of alcohol

Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquor Control Board of Ontario</span> Alcoholic beverage retailer in Ontario, Canada

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It was established in 1927 by the government of Premier George Howard Ferguson to sell liquor, wine, and beer. Such sales were banned outright in 1916 as part of prohibition in Canada. The creation of the LCBO marked an easing of the province's temperance regime. By September 2017, the LCBO was operating 651 liquor stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum-running</span> Illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages

Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquor store</span> Retail shop that sells alcohol

A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.

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 imported. Strong support for prohibition came from religious elements of society such as the Ontario Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which sought to eliminate what it considered the societal ills and vices associated with liquor consumption, including violent behaviour and familial abuse. Historically, prohibition advocates in Ontario drew inspiration from the temperance movements in Britain and the United States. The Act was repealed in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission</span> Government agency of Alberta, Canada

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) is an agency of the government of the Canadian province of Alberta, and regulates alcoholic beverages, recreational cannabis, and gaming-related activities. References to cannabis were added to AGLC's name and governing legislation as cannabis in Canada moved towards legalization in 2018. AGLC was created in 1996 as the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission by combining the responsibilities and operations of the Alberta Liquor Control Board (ALCB), Alberta Lotteries, the Alberta Gaming Commission, Alberta Lotteries and Gaming and the Gaming Control Branch. The current chief executive officer as of 2020 is Kandice Machado.

The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch is the agency of the government of British Columbia, within the Ministry of the Public Safety and Solicitor General, responsible for issuing liquor licenses in the province and for enforcing the provisions of the Liquor Control and Licensing Act.

This article covers various topics involving alcoholic drinks in Canada. The Government of Canada defines an alcoholic drink as "a beverage containing 1.1% or more alcohol by volume."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition in Canada</span> Historic alcohol ban in Canada

Prohibition in Canada was a ban on alcoholic beverages that arose in various stages, from local municipal bans in the late 19th century, to provincial bans in the early 20th century, and national prohibition from 1918 to 1920. The relatively large and powerful beer and alcohol manufacturing sector, and the huge working class that purchased their products, failed to convince any of the governments to reverse their stance on prohibition. Most provinces repealed their bans in the 1920s, though alcohol was illegal in Prince Edward Island from 1901 to 1948. By comparison, the Ontario Temperance Act was in effect from 1916 to 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation</span>

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) is the Crown corporation which controls sales of alcoholic beverages and recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the sole distributor for these products and runs all retail outlets selling alcohol and cannabis products. The exceptions are for four private retailers in urban HRM offering beer, wine, and spirits, and, in rural areas where there is not an NSLC location, 65 "agency" liquor stores operated by private retailers on NSLC's behalf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol monopoly</span> Government monopoly on alcohol aiming to reduce consumption

An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on manufacturing and/or retailing of some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition of alcohol. They exist in all Nordic countries except Denmark proper, and in all provinces and territories in Canada except Alberta. In the United States, there are some alcoholic beverage control states, where alcohol wholesale is controlled by a state government operation and retail sales are offered by either state or private retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Kansas</span>

The alcohol laws of Kansas are among the strictest in the United States, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri, and similar to its other neighboring state of Oklahoma. Legislation is enforced by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition in the United States</span> Ban on alcohol from 1920 to 1933

The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933.

Canadian liquor plebiscites, held in 1920 under the Canada Temperance Act and the Dominion Elections Act, were referendums on the strengthening of the Prohibition measures in effect in several provinces of Canada. Voters were asked if they supported banning of importation of liquor across provincial boundaries. The referendums were held on July 10, 1920, in New Brunswick; on October 20 in British Columbia; and on October 25 in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol in New Zealand</span>

Alcohol has been consumed in New Zealand since the arrival of Europeans. The most popular alcoholic beverage is beer. The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. New Zealand has an above average consumption rate of alcohol, in 2016 ranking 32nd globally in per-capita total alcohol consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol law</span> Law pertaining to alcoholic beverages

Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum-running in Windsor, Ontario</span> Alcohol smuggling in 20th century Canada

In 1916, the State of Michigan, in the United States, banned the sale of alcohol, three years before prohibition became the national law in 1919. From that point forward, the City of Windsor, Ontario was a major site for Rum-running—alcohol smuggling—and gang activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Liquor Stores</span>

BC Liquor Stores are a chain of government-owned and operated retail outlets operated by the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch to distribute alcoholic beverages in the province of British Columbia, Canada. They are accountable to the Attorney General of British Columbia. BC Liquor Stores currently operate 198 locations across the province. The chain was established in June 1921, following the result of a plebiscite in favour of liquor availability through government liquor stores. Prior to the plebiscite, alcohol had been illegal through the Prohibition Act, introduced on May 23, 1916, with exceptions for sacramental, medicinal or industrial purposes.

In the Canadian province of Ontario, severe restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcoholic drink were imposed in localities during the later 19th century. Prohibition was imposed across the province under the 1916 Ontario Temperance Act, until restrictions were somewhat eased with the passage of the Liquor Control Act of 1927 which set up the still existing Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Regulations were further amended in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consequences of Prohibition</span> Effects of alcohol prohibition in the United States

The Consequences of Prohibition did not just include effects on people's drinking habits but also on the worldwide economy, the people's trust of the government, and the public health system. Alcohol, from the rise of the temperance movement to modern day restrictions around the world, has long been a source of turmoil. When alcoholic beverages were first banned under the Volstead Act in 1919, the United States government had little idea of the severity of the consequences. It was first thought that a ban on alcohol would increase the moral character of society, but a ban on alcohol had vast unintended consequences.

References

  1. ↑ Colebourn, John (June 14, 2016). "B.C. liquor branch celebrates 95th year". The Vancouver Sun . Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ "[BCLDB] Recognized as one of BC's top employers". Eluta.ca. February 22, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "About the LDB" . Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen (1991). Demon Rum or Easy Money: Government Control of Liquor in British Columbia from Prohibition to Privatization. Ottawa: Carleton University Press. p. 18. ISBN   0-88629-152-6.
  5. ↑ Marquis, Greg (1995). "Vancouver Vice: The Police and Negotiation of Morality, 1905-1935". In Foster, Hamar; McLaren, John (eds.). Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume VI. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 244. ISBN   0-8020-0789-9.
  6. ↑ Heron, Craig (2003). Booze: A Distilled History. Toronto: Between The Lines. p. 114. ISBN   1-896357-83-0.
  7. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. pp. 14–15.
  8. ↑ Marquis, Greg. "Vancouver Vice: The Police and Negotiation of Morality, 1905-1935". Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume VI. p. 261.
  9. ↑ Mayhew, Barry (2008). ""Are you on the Indian List?". British Columbia History. 41 (2): 10–11. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  10. ↑ Marquis, Greg. "Vancouver Vice". p. 261.
  11. ↑ Heron, Craig. Booze. p. 178.
  12. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. p. 22.
  13. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. p. 23.
  14. ↑ Marquis, Greg. "Vancouver Vice". p. 262.
  15. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. pp. 29–30.
  16. ↑ Hyde, Ron (Fall 2010). "The Liquor Control Board and the Moderation Act – 1921". British Columbia History News. 44 (3): 28.
  17. ↑ James, Rick (2018). Don’t Never Tell Nobody Nothin’ No How: The Real Story of West Coast Rum Running. Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing Company. pp. 14–15. ISBN   1-55017-842-3.
  18. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. p. 64.
  19. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen. Demon Rum or Easy Money. p. 50.
  20. ↑ Campbell, Robert Allen (1999). "Managing the Marginal: Regulating and Negotiating Decency in Vancouver's Beer Parlours, 1925-1954". Labour/Le Travail. 44: 116–117.
  21. ↑ Stores — BC Liquor Stores , retrieved December 2, 2024
  22. ↑ "B.C. releases first decisions on cannabis regulation after public engagement". Government of British Columbia . December 5, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  23. ↑ Eagland, Nick (October 17, 2018). "Inside B.C.'s first legal cannabis store in Kamloops". The Vancouver Sun . Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Cannabis goes up for sale online as marijuana gets legalized in B.C." The Vancouver Sun . October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.