Alberta liquor plebiscite, 1957

The 1957 Alberta Liquor Plebiscite was a province-wide plebiscite conducted in Alberta, Canada and it was held on October 30, 1957. Unlike the other three plebiscites held in Alberta, the 1957 vote was not held in conjunction with a provincial election. At the time, the Alberta Liquor Control Board operated only a few stores from which liquor could be legally purchased. The plebiscite asked voters in every district if they were in favour of adding extra ALCB outlets.

The province of Alberta decided to hold a plebiscite after divisive debate in the legislature on the need to deal with demands to loosen regulatory restrictions to liquor that had been in place since the prohibition era.

The vote to hold a plebiscite had carried on a recorded division by a single vote after much debate.

In addition to the liquor controversy growing in the province, there was another testing of citizens' sentiment on an issue. The government decided to hold a plebiscite among egg producers on whether or not to establish a compulsory egg marketing board. That plebiscite was originally to be held in June 1957, but Leonard Halmrast, the Minister of Agriculture, decided to hold it in conjunction with the liquor plebiscite so that the sentiment of Egg producers could be tested at the same time as voters for the liquor plebiscite, to save costs. That decision later led to controversy when numerous producers were missed after the plan was defeated in a close vote. A second vote among egg producers in summer 1958 brought in a 'Yes" result.

In Calgary, and Edmonton, as well as the parts of Gleichen, Banff-Cochrane and Clover Bar, that were within the Calgary and Edmonton city limits, a second question was put on the ballot asking if "mixed drinking" should be permitted in beer parlours. Men and women had not been allowed to drink together in Albertan bars since 1928, four years after Prohibition has been repealed.

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