Crowsnest Pass Rum Runner Days

The sweet aromas of sugar and rum wafted in the streets until 1916, when Alberta held its province-wide prohibition vote. The vote saw 58,528 Albertans in favour of criminalizing booze making Alberta a ‘dry’ province. The seven-year alcohol ban lasted until 1923, and left ‘wet’ voters with a veritable thirst for contraband. As a result, black-market booze began filtering into Crowsnest Pass courtesy of rum runners (slang for people who transported alcoholic beverages to areas where drinking it is forbidden by law). Despite the ban, liquor consumption was alive and well in The Pass. This was largely due to miners’ desire for a ritual of a stiff drink after a long and physically challenging day working in the mines. The demand for liquor was so great that some residents sought prescriptions from their doctors, who prescribed liquor as medicine. The profits of rum running might seem glam...