The Temperance Movement in BC, 1858-1900

    The temperance movement in British Columbia began in earnest in 1859, just months after the Victoria Brewery began operations at its new location.  On June 23, John T. Pidwell placed an advertisement in the Victoria Gazette celebrating the efforts of the eastern temperance movement and advocating the creation of a B.C. division.  Pidwell had arrived in Victoria in 1858 from New Brunswick where he had taken an active role as a member of the Sons of Temperance.  In February, 1859, he was joined in Victoria by four ministers from the Methodist Conference Missionary Society whom he had sent for several months prior.  The Canadian ministers were members of the British Wesleyan Society, named for Rev. John Wesley who had initiated the movement in England.  In 1789, Wesley was described as "the most effective temperance advocate the English-speaking world has yet reared" (Allen, 10).  On July 18, 1859, the Victoria Sons of Temperance organization was officially formed with the notable support and influence of local Methodist ministers.

    As the 1960s began, little was written about or heard from the Sons of Temperance.  It is possible that the transient and dissolute nature of the mining population that continued to regularly pass through Victoria made their efforts largely futile.  But by 1862, they returned to the forefront of public awareness.  In October of that year, the organization grew to include 115 members.  Among the seven newly-elected officers was Mifflin Gibbs, a prominent African-American, and less than one year later two women, Jane Darragh and A. Wells, appear on the officers' list.  Another period of apparent inactivity ensued that lasted through the 1870s.  The lapse in publicity was partly due to a wane in interest on the part of Amor de Cosmos.  De Cosmos was an early advocate of the temperance movement but his focus, and that of his newspaper the Daily Colonist, shifted toward more political aspirations in the 1860s.

    The 1880s witnessed a significant increase in the notoriety of the temperance organizations.  Three large unions established local chapters during this period: the Dominion Alliance, the Blue Ribbon Society, and, most notably, the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).  The WCTU was official formed on July 3, 1883, and M. Pollard was elected President.  The organizations goals were: 1) total abstinence from drink; 2) to urge the government to legislate and end to the liquor trade; and 3) to achieve women's suffrage in Canada.

    In 1888, the temperance movement gained momentum when the WCTU and Good Templars consolidated their efforts into a unified whole.  The result was further pressure on the Provincial and Federal Governments to pass temperance laws.  Their efforts came to fruition on September 29, 1898, when British Columbians cast their vote in the national prohibition plebiscite (Allen, 78).  Although the majority of Victorians voted against prohibition, BC overall, and every other province except Quebec, voted in favour of the proposition.  Soon after, the Provincial government began passing anti-drinking laws that would pave the way for prohibition to take hold in the twentieth century.  Possibly more important than the road to prohibition was temperance movement's unifying nature, particularly in regards to the WCTU.  It, along with other women's organizations, made great strides in the struggle for gender equality, the legacy of which is ever-present.